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The National
9 hours ago
- Politics
- The National
Jailed PKK leader Ocalan needs outside contact to dissolve group, pro-Kurdish politicians say
The jailed leader of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) Abdullah Ocalan needs better communication with the outside world to manage the militant group's proposed disarmament and political transition, pro-Kurdish leaders in Turkey have said. "Mr Ocalan will personally lead this disarmament process," Tulay Hatimogullari, co-chairman of the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party, said in Istanbul on Wednesday. "Therefore, for him to work more comfortably on this matter, he wants to hold meetings with many groups in Turkey, the Middle East, Europe – in short, all over the world." Ocalan, whose group is designated a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the EU and the US, called on PKK members in February to lay down their arms and for the group to be dissolved. His call came after a months-long process initiated by an ally of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the ultranationalist politician Devlet Bahceli, to offer greater freedom for Ocalan in exchange for the PKK's dissolution. Ocalan intends to transform the PKK into a political party based on 'political internationalism', Ms Hatimogullari said. 'After the weapons are laid down, how will the PKK cadres take on roles and missions in this regard? she said. "To discuss all of this and consult with others, it is necessary for him [Ocalan] to meet with everyone. We can evaluate this as a first step.' Ocalan also wants to meet leaders in Iraq and Syria, both of which have large Kurdish populations with varying degrees of autonomous governance, she said. "He wants to meet both with representatives of the autonomous administration in northern and eastern Syria, and with representatives of the Damascus government. The same goes for Iraq and many other countries." Kurdish politicians, who distinguish themselves from the PKK, are pushing for Turkey's government to move faster in what they describe as a democratisation process aimed at peace. The Turkish government has framed it as an exercise in achieving a 'terror-free Turkey', following more than four decades of conflict with the Kurdish militant group. 'The fact that it is progressing slowly does not mean that it is deadlocked. I think it needs to be accelerated,' Ms Hatimogullari said. Broadly, Kurdish politicians are calling for better prison conditions for Ocalan, who has been incarcerated on a remote island in the Sea of Marmara, south of Istanbul, since 1999. They want the formation of a parliamentary commission to solidify the process in law and to make recommendations for amendments to anti-terrorism legislation. They also want greater rights to use the Kurdish language and an end to curbs on Kurdish political activity. Government officials have said little about how the PKK's dissolution and disarmament will be managed and it is unclear to what extent they are willing to meet the DEM party's expectations. The government seeks co-ordination with other parties for the process to succeed, Mr Erdogan said on Wednesday. 'We need co-operation and the development of the spirit of working together to easily reach the goal of a terror-free Turkey, whose strategic importance is understood,' he told MPs in Ankara. The parliamentary commission needs to be functional, effective and results-driven, DEM co-chairman Tuncer Bakirhan said. The conflict between Iran and Israel adds more urgency, as Turkey needs to maximise its stability in the face of regional hostilities, he added. The commission "must not just engage in debate; it should provide legal proposals to the parliament ... and ensure successful progress on this issue", he said. The DEM is pushing for the commission to start work before the Turkish parliament's summer break, he added. The PKK agreed to heed Ocalan's call and disband last month. Yet the process of laying down weapons and deciding the fate of its fighters is complex. The PKK has conditioned laying down their weapons on 'freedom' for Ocalan and are in contact with the Turkish government over the disarmament process, Ms Hatimogullari said. Whether that means his release or the ability to hold consultations on the process from prison has not yet been established. 'Of course, the warring sides are already in contact with each other – this is happening outside the DEM party, outside of democratic politics,' she said. "Our view is that if steps are taken in this regard, the disarmament process will gain momentum very quickly. But as for how the dialogue between them will evolve in the upcoming period – we cannot predict that.' The government has not confirmed it is in talks with the PKK over the disarmament. Turkish intelligence services would 'closely monitor whether promises are kept' around dissolution, Mr Erdogan said last month. Releasing Ocalan would be politically difficult for the Turkish government: the conflict with the PKK has killed 40,000 people across both sides, and the release of the man heading the group that forms Turkey's number one national security issue would be unpopular. DEM officials, who have been allowed to visit Ocalan several times in recent months, said his overall prison conditions have not changed, but he now spends less time in solitary confinement. He is able to meet up to three other prisoners, chosen by him and his lawyers, to hold 'study groups', said Ms Hatimogullari. "He is in quite good spirits."
Arab News
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Turkiye eyes legal steps after Kurdish militant group PKK disbands
ANKARA: After the decision by the Kurdish militant group PKK to disband, Turkiye was eyeing Wednesday a raft of legal and technical measures to ensure its full implementation and finally end a four-decade insurgency. Monday's announcement sought to draw a line under a bloody chapter that began in 1984 when the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) took up arms, triggering a conflict that cost more than 40,000 lives. 'What matters most is the implementation,' President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Wednesday, pledging to 'meticulously monitor whether the promises are kept.' The pro-Kurdish DEM party, a key player that facilitated contact between jailed PKK founder Abdullah Ocalan and the political establishment, urged Ankara on Tuesday to take 'confidence-building steps' such as freeing political prisoners. So far, Turkish officials have said little but the government is working on a proposal that could ease prison sentences in general. The text, which should be submitted to parliament by June at the latest, provides for the conditional release of all those in pre-trial detention for offenses committed before July 31, 2023. There are also plans to release to house arrest those who are sick, or women with children, if they are serving sentences of less than five years. There are nearly 10,000 political prisoners in this country. If a peace process is ever to get under way, they must be released as soon as possible DEM co-chair Tulay Hatimogullari The moves could affect more than 60,000 people, Turkish media reports say. But the authorities are reportedly being careful not to frame it as an 'amnesty.' 'Sick prisoners should not die in prison... These measures should not be interpreted as a general amnesty, which is not on the agenda,' Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc said. But DEM co-chair Tulay Hatimogullari said a move to free prisoners was essential. 'There are nearly 10,000 political prisoners in this country... If a peace process is ever to get under way, they must be released as soon as possible,' she said Monday. For DEM, that must include prisoners like Selahattin Demirtas, the charismatic former leader of a former pro-Kurdish party who has been jailed since 2016. 'With the complete elimination of terror and violence, the door to a new era will open,' Erdogan said Monday. Some prisoners, such as Demirtas or the philanthropist Osman Kavala, who is serving life on charges of 'trying to overthrow the government,' could in theory be quickly freed if Turkiye heeded rulings by the European Court of Human Rights, which has repeatedly demanded their release. PKK's fighters and weapons But before that, Ankara is awaiting concrete proof that the PKK has actually laid down its weapons, Abdulkadir Selvi, a columnist close to the government, wrote in the Hurriyet newspaper. 'The democratic changes will start after the head of the MIT (intelligence services) has submitted his report to President Erdogan,' he wrote. According to Turkish media reports, the MIT will supervise the weapons handover at locations in Turkiye, Syria and Iraq. It will register the weapons handed in and the identity of the fighters in coordination with the Syrian and Iraqi authorities. 'Our intelligence service will follow the process meticulously to ensure the promises are kept,' Erdogan said Wednesday. Most of the PKK's fighters have spent the past decade in the mountains of northern Iraq. Those who have committed no crime in Turkiye will be allowed to return without fear of prosecution. But the PKK's leaders will be forced into exile in third-party states such as Norway or South Africa, media reports suggest. Duran Kalkan, a member of the PKK's executive committee, said Tuesday that renouncing armed struggle 'can only be implemented under (Ocalan's) leadership' and when he is guaranteed 'free living and working conditions.' Experts say prison conditions for Ocalan, 76, will be 'eased' but he is unlikely to leave the Imrali prison island where he has been held since 1999, largely because his life would be threatened. 'Naming trustees (to replace deposed mayors) will become an exceptional measure... after the terrorist organization is dissolved,' Erdogan said, suggesting that Kurdish mayors removed from office over alleged ties to the PKK would be reinstated. In total, 16 opposition mayors from the DEM and the main opposition CHP have been removed since local elections in March 2024.
