Abdullah Öçalan, affirmed that the rapprochement between Turks and Kurds was a “ historical responsibility “, saying to himself ” determined » to participate in the peace process launched in Türkiye, the pro-Kurdish Turkish party DEM said on Sunday, December 29, after visiting him the day before in prison.
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Two deputies from the DEM (Party of People’s Equality and Democracy) spoke on Saturday with the leader of the PKK (Kurdistan Workers’ Party), imprisoned for life on an island off the coast of Istanbul. A first visit in ten years: the DEM’s predecessor, the HDP (People’s Democratic Party), last saw him in April 2015.
The President’s Government Recep Tayyip Erdogan had approved the DEM’s request on Friday to visit the 75-year-old Kurdish leader. The latter has been detained for 25 years on the Turkish prison island of Imrali.
The PKK, a Kurdish separatist organization, in armed struggle for decades against the Turkish central power, is classified as an organization “ terrorist » by Turkey as well as by the UNITED STATESL’European Union and the United Kingdom.
Saturday’s visit became possible after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s nationalist ally, the leader of the ultranationalist MHP (Nationalist Action Party), Devlet Bahceli, invited Abdullah Öçalan to come before Parliament to renounce the ” terrorism » and disband the activist group.
“ I have the competence and determination to make a positive contribution to the new paradigm launched by Mr. Bahceli and Mr. Erdogan “, said Abdullah Öçalan according to the DEM press release. He also said, according to the same source, that the delegation that visited him would share his approach with the state and political circles. “ In light of this, I am ready to take the necessary action and make this appeal. »
Also readTürkiye: a delegation from the pro-Kurdish DEM party meets the imprisoned leader of the PKK
“ Now is the time for courage for an honorable peace »
DEM co-president Tuncer Bakirhan sees in Öçalan’s quoted words “ a historic opportunity to build a common future “, in a message posted on X. “ We are on the eve of a potential democratic transformation in Türkiye and the region. Now is the time for courage […] for an honorable peace “, he said.
The idea launched by Devlet Bahceli, fiercely hostile to the PKK, has sparked public debate since October, with Erdogan hailing it as a “ historic window of opportunity “. But a terrorist attack in October against a Turkish defense company in Ankara, which left five dead and claimed by PKK militants, dashed hopes.
For academic Mesut Yeğen, this sudden resumption of negotiations is linked to recent geopolitical upheavals in the Near and Middle East, he explains at the microphone of Céline Pierre-Magnanispecial correspondent in Diyarbakir.
“ Turkey tried to use the Syrian National Army, but it failed to become a significant player on the ground “, he explains. “ We have to see the following: Iran is no longer as powerful as before in Syria and Iraq, and the fact that it is losing influence has created a vacuum. However, if Turkey cannot reach an agreement with the Kurds to fill this void, there is a risk that the axis between the United States and the Kurds will strengthen. »
Then Mesut Yeğen adds: “ If this happens, then it could change the balance that is being formed between the Kurds and Turkey. Given the regional vacuum generated by Iran’s retreat, Turkey wants to respond by making peace with the Kurds. Disarmament, an agreement on Rojava, the situation of Öçalan and other political prisoners in Turkey are all points that will be addressed during negotiations, and finally, of course, a modification of the Constitution “, he emphasizes.