'Peace process' underway: PKK head receives visit from MPs
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A delegation from pro-Kurdish DEM Party were allowed a rare visit to Abdullah Öcalan, the jailed leader of the Kurdish paramilitary group PKK. Upon meeting with Öcalan on Imralı island, the delegation started a meeting tour in the parliament, starting with the President of the Assembly and MHP leader Devlet Bahçeli. Meetings with other party heads are scheduled for this week.
Important note: Öcalan has been serving a life sentence on Imralı Island, south of Istanbul, since his capture 25 years ago. The visit is the first of its kind in over a decade. Turkey and its Western allies designate the PKK as a terrorist organization.
Who are they? The delegation included former party co-chair and MP Pervin Buldan and MP Sırrı Süreyya Önder.
What happened? The visit to Öcalan took place on Dec 28. "I have the competence and determination to make a positive contribution to the new paradigm started by Mr Bahçeli and Mr Erdoğan. In light of this, I am ready to take the necessary positive steps and make the call." Öcalan said, according to a DEM statement. "The call" here refers to a call to PKK militants to lay down their arms.
The backstory: The new paradigm, peace process, refers to an unexpected call by Devlet Bahçeli, the ultranationalist government partner, inviting Öcalan to parliament to renounce terrorism and disband the group. The so-called "peace process" seeks to build on past failed attempts, addressing decades-long grievances and current practical concerns regarding Kurds in Turkey.
What they're saying: Ahmet Türk, a veteran Kurdish politician who was serving as Mayor of Mardin until he was removed from office by the judiciary and replaced by a government-appointed trustee, said after the delegation's meeting with ultranationalist MHP leader Bahçeli:
"When you see Mr. Bahçeli's attitude, you are shocked, but you also realize that he is sincere. It is time for Kurds and Turks to sit down and solve their own problems. At a time when we do not know where the Middle East will evolve, Turks and Kurds should embrace again."
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan once again emphasized the goal of a "Turkey without terrorism", saying that they are carrying out "policies whose results will be for the good of the country and the nation, even if the process is painful", implicitly referring to the Imralı process. Erdoğan said, referring to the PKK,
"At this stage, the end of the road is visible for the terrorist organization. They have no choice but to surrender their weapons, abandon terrorism and disband the organization. If they do not, they will face the iron fist wrapped in velvet glove of the Turkish Republic, which is in its most powerful period."
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