Öcalan in prison: sign of a new peace process?

On December 27, 2024, a historical meeting between Abdullah Öcalan, the detained leader of the PKK, and pro -Kurdish party officials is expected. MP Sirri Süreyya Önder and Pervin Buldan are preparing for talks with Öcalan in prison on the island of Imrali. The meeting should take place on Saturday or Sunday, whereby the implementation depends on the weather conditions.

An official permission of the Turkish Ministry of Justice for the meeting is already available. Abdullah Öcalan has been in custody since 1999 after the PKK has been fighting against the Turkish state since the 1980s. This organization is classified by Ankara, the EU and the USA as a terrorist organization. Öcalan had already visited Öcalan as part of reconciliation efforts.

in the past.

political background

The last attempt to achieve peace between the Turkish government and the PKK failed in 2015. At the end of October 2023, Öcalan was allowed to receive his nephew Ömer, who is also a member of the Prourdische Democratic Regions Party (DE); However, this meeting had a family character. Shortly before, representatives of the nationalist movement party (MHP), a government partner party, said that a possible release could be discussed in Öcalans if the PKK lays down the weapons.

The Turkish judiciary gave the attendance of representatives of the Pro-Kurdish opposition party to the prison. This is evaluated by observers as a potential sign for the beginning of a new peace process. At the beginning of October 2023, Devlet Bahceli, the head of the MHP, proposed that Öcalan in parliament should dissolve the PKK and do without violence, which was supported by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. One day after Bahceli's proposal, Öcalan received a visit from his family for the first time in 2020. While the Turkish government accuses the connections to the PKK, the party denies these accusations.