Latest news with #Imrali
Asharq Al-Awsat
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Asharq Al-Awsat
PKK Urges Türkiye to Ease Imprisonment of 'Chief Negotiator' Ocalan
The Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) has said Türkiye should ease prison conditions for its founder Abdullah Ocalan, declaring him the group's "chief negotiator" for any future talks after a decision to disband. A spokesman for the Kurdish group, blacklisted as a "terrorist" organization by Ankara and its Western allies, told AFP in an interview on Monday that Türkiye has not yet provided guarantees for a peace process, and expressed objection to exiling PKK members. In recent months, the PKK has made several historic decisions, starting with announcing a ceasefire and ultimately declaring on May 12 its dissolution, ending a decades-long insurgency against the Turkish state that cost more than 40,000 lives. The group's moves followed an appeal by Ocalan, made in a letter from Istanbul's Imrali prison island where he has been held in solitary confinement since 1999. Zagros Hiwa, spokesman for the PKK's political wing, told AFP in a written interview that "as an organization which has waged military struggle for 41 years, we have decided to dissolve and put an end to armed struggle." "By this, we give peace a real chance." "So from now on, we expect that the Turkish state makes amendments in the solitary confinement conditions" of Ocalan, and allow him "free and secure work conditions so that he could lead the process," Hiwa said. "Leader Apo is our chief negotiator" for any talks with Türkiye, he added, referring to Ocalan. The spokesman said that "only Leader Apo can lead the practical implementation of the decision" taken by the PKK congress earlier this month to disband, paving the way for a political settlement. The dissolution mechanisms are unclear yet, but the Turkish government has said it would carefully monitor the process to ensure full implementation. Hiwa said the implementation would be addressed in Ocalan's negotiations with Turkish officials.
News.com.au
12-05-2025
- Politics
- News.com.au
Ocalan: founder of the Kurdish militant PKK who authored its end
Abdullah Ocalan, the jailed founder of the militant Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), is an icon to many Kurds but a "terrorist" to many within wider Turkish society. After a decades-long insurgency against the Turkish state that resulted in tens of thousands of deaths, the PKK said on Monday it was disbanding and ending its armed struggle. The move came after Ocalan issued a historic call on February 27 for his fighters to lay down their arms in a major step towards ending the decades-long conflict. Now 76, Ocalan has been held in solitary confinement since 1999 on Imrali prison island near Istanbul. But since October, when Turkey tentatively moved to reset ties with the PKK, Ocalan has been visited several times by lawmakers from the pro-Kurdish opposition DEM party. For many Turks, the PKK leader is public enemy number one. He founded the group in 1978. Six years later, it began an insurgency demanding independence and later broader autonomy in Turkey's mostly Kurdish southeast. A Marxist-inspired group, the PKK was blacklisted as a "terror" organisation by Ankara, Washington, Brussels and many other Western countries. - An olive branch - Attitudes began shifting in October when ultra-nationalist MHP leader Devlet Bahceli, a close ally of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, offered Ocalan an olive branch if he would publicly renounce violence. The next day, the former guerrilla, who embodies the decades-long Kurdish rebellion, received his first family visit in four years. He sent back a message saying he alone could shift the Kurdish question "from an arena of conflict and violence to one of law and politics", later offering assurances he was "ready to... make the call". Ankara's move came shortly before Syrian rebels overthrew ruler Bashar al-Assad, upending the regional balance of power and thrusting Turkey's complex relationship with the Kurds into the spotlight. - From village life to militancy - Ocalan was born on April 4, 1949, one of six siblings in a mixed Turkish-Kurdish peasant family in Omerli, a village in Turkey's southeast. His mother tongue is Turkish. He became a left-wing activist while studying politics at university in Ankara and was first jailed in 1972. He set up the PKK six years later, then spent years on the run, launching the movement's armed struggle in 1984. Taking refuge in Syria, he led the fight from there, causing friction between Damascus and Ankara. Forced out in 1998, he moved from Russia to Italy to Greece in search of a haven, ending up at the Greek consulate in Kenya, where US agents got wind of his presence and tipped off Turkey. He was arrested on February 15, 1999, after being lured into a vehicle in a Hollywood-style operation by Turkish security forces. Sentenced to death, he escaped the gallows when Turkey started abolishing capital punishment in 2002, living out the rest of his days in isolation on Imrali prison island in the Sea of Marmara near Istanbul. For many Kurds, he is a hero whom they refer to as "Apo" (uncle). But Turks often call him "bebek katili" (baby killer) for ruthless tactics that include the bombing of civilian targets. - Jailed but still leading - With Ocalan's arrest, Ankara thought it had decapitated the PKK. But even from his cell he continued to lead, ordering a ceasefire that lasted from 1999 until 2004. In 2005, he ordered followers to renounce the idea of an independent Kurdish state and campaign for autonomy in their respective countries. Tentative moves to resolve Turkey's "Kurdish problem" began in 2008 and several years later Ocalan became involved in the first unofficial peace talks, when Erdogan was prime minister. Led by then spy chief Hakan Fidan -- who is now foreign minister -- the talks raised Kurdish hopes for a solution with their future within Turkey's borders. But the effort collapsed in July 2015, sparking one of the deadliest chapters in the conflict. The government has defended its de facto silencing of Ocalan, saying he failed to convince the PKK of the need for peace. Seen as the world's largest stateless people, Kurds were left without a country when the Ottoman Empire collapsed after World War I. Although most live in Turkey, where they make up around a fifth of the population, the Kurds are also spread across Syria, Iraq and Iran. Turkey's widescale use of combat drones has pushed most Kurdish fighters into northern Syria and Iraq, where Ankara has continued its raids. bur-hmw/gil
Rudaw Net
03-05-2025
- Politics
- Rudaw Net
Kurdish leaders praise peace efforts of Sirri Sureyya Onder who died Saturday
Also in Turkey Key member of Ankara-PKK peace talks team passes away Turkey's Gabar oil field production nears $2 billion: Erdogan PKK says expects Ocalan to lead party congress DEM Party urges Turkish justice minister to ease Ocalan isolation A+ A- ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Kurdistan Region leaders offered their condolences following the death of politician Sirri Sureyya Onder, who played a pivotal role in peace talks between Ankara and the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). 'The late Onder, both as deputy speaker of the Turkish Parliament and as a member of the Imrali delegation, through his role, efforts, and struggle for the success of the peace process in Turkey, with his dedicated thoughts, actions, and work for peace, brotherhood, and peaceful coexistence, demonstrated a supreme example of peace-seeking and humanitarianism that was respected and appreciated by all,' Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani said in a statement on Saturday. Onder, 62, was a member of the Turkish parliament on the ticket of the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party). He was part of the Imrali delegation that visited jailed PKK leader in his Imrali island prison and is mediating peace talks between the PKK and the Turkish state. His death comes at a pivotal moment in the negotiations. Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani also expressed his deep condolences, stating, 'Onder was a longtime friend of the Kurdish people and a well-known activist in the peace process in Turkey. He played an active and unforgettable role in strengthening brotherhood and harmony between both the Kurdish and Turkish peoples.' Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) leader Masoud Barzani extended his condolences to Onder's family, colleagues, and supporters, including the DEM Party, and said he shares in their grief. Onder died of multiple organ failure. His death was announced on Saturday by the hospital where he was receiving treatment after suffering a heart attack. Kurdistan Region Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani expressed deep sorrow over Onder's passing and recalled meeting with him recently. 'Two months ago, with a heart full of hope and a face brimming with optimism, he looked toward the peace process and the future of the Kurdish people in Turkey and the region. Unfortunately, death did not give that hopeful heart enough time to see with his own eyes the bright future of coexistence for which he had struggled his entire life,' Talabani said. Onder was born to a Turkmen family on July 7, 1962 in Adiyaman province. He served as a member of parliament as part of several pro-Kurdish parties. He spent time in jail after the 1980 coup. He was jailed again in 2018 after he was convicted of propaganda for a terrorist organization alongside Kurdish politician Selahattin Demirtas, but was released the following year after a court ruled his right to freedom of expression had been violated.
Shafaq News
16-02-2025
- Politics
- Shafaq News
President Barzani reveals files discussed with leaders at MSC2025
Nechirvan Barzani, President of the Kurdistan Region, revealed on Sunday the details of his discussions with world leaders during his participation in the MSC2025 in Germany, while conveying key Iraqi, Syrian, and US messages. In a press conference held in Munich, Barzani stated, "We discussed the Kurdistan Region's perspective on security issues in our meetings with leaders and officials." He added, "We also listened to the viewpoints of the other parties and discussed the ongoing events in the region", revaling that the Syrian issue was one of the main topics in all the meetings. Barzani noted that "What is happening in Syria is encouraging in terms of the fall of an authoritarian regime, and we hope the current authorities will include all components of Syria." Barzani expressed his longing for the cities of Qamishli and Damascus, wishing to visit them someday, as well as Aleppo and Afrin. Barzani described the conference as an opportunity to discuss global developments and issues related to our region, pointing out that "We had a productive meeting with US Secretary of State, although we recognize it has not been long since he assumed office." The President of the Kurdistan Region emphasized, "We discussed common matters between us and the United States, reiterating that Iraq is a stabilizing factor in the region. On behalf of Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, we affirmed these points." He also announced that an invitation was extended to the US Secretary of State to visit Iraq and attend the inauguration of the new US consulate in Erbil. Barzani mentioned that he will meet with a delegation from Imrali on Monday, which carried a message from the leader of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), Abdullah Öcalan. He noted, "The Imrali delegation came to Erbil and will travel to Sulaymaniyah. We are awaiting the contents of the message and expect it to be a message of peace." The Kurdish President affirmed, "We hope to hear a message of peace from Öcalan, and we hope the PKK will respond positively to this message."
