Politics

Öcalan reaffirms power to transform conflict into political process

Öcalan's message stated: "If conditions are favorable, I have both theoretical and practical authority to transition this process from conflict and violence to legal and political grounds."

A man holds up a picture of jailed Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan. (Photo: AP)
A man holds up a picture of jailed Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan. (Photo: AP)
Turkey Abdullah Ocalan Ömer Öcalan DEM Party Northern Kurdistan Devlet Bahçeli MHP PKK family visit to İmralı Island İmralı Island

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) - Abdullah Öcalan has reiterated, "I have both theoretical and practical authority to transition this process from conflict and violence to legal and political grounds, if conditions are favorable."
Meeting Between Ömer Öcalan and Abdullah Ocalan
On Thursday, DEM Party parliamentarian Ömer Öcalan, nephew of Abdullah Öcalan, announced via his official X account that they met with Abdullah Öcalan "as family" on Wednesday, Oct. 23, after more than two and a half years.
During their meeting, Abdullah Öcalan conveyed a message about the peace process in Northern Kurdistan to the public through his nephew Ömer Öcalan.
Öcalan's message stated: "If conditions are favorable, I have both theoretical and practical authority to transition this process from conflict and violence to legal and political grounds."
Regarding Abdullah Öcalan's health condition, his nephew reported that "his health was good, and he sent warm greetings to everyone."
The last face-to-face family meeting with Abdullah Öcalan took place on March 3, 2020, according to what . Ömer Öcalan indicated in his statement on X platform. The DEM Party parliamentarian demands that "family visits, which are a legal right, should continue regardless of circumstances."
This meeting comes days after Devlet Bahçeli, leader of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), announced that "Abdullah Öcalan, the imprisoned leader of the PKK, should appear in the Turkish Parliament and announce disarmament."

 

Kurdish Issue Becomes Turkey's Agenda
The Kurdish issue entered a new and important phase following MHP leader Devlet Bahçeli's call for Abdullah Öcalan to be brought from prison to parliament to announce PKK's disarmament and dissolution.
Bahçeli stated, "Turkey's problem isn't Kurds, it's the PKK. When Abdullah Öcalan was captured and brought to Turkey, he declared his readiness to provide all kinds of service. There are calls to lift Öcalan's isolation, let it be lifted and let him come to parliament, announce PKK's disarmament at the DEM Party's faction meeting. Let him declare loudly that terrorism is over and PKK has dissolved itself."
In response, DEM Party co-chair Tülay Hatimoğulları declared their readiness for peace, "Parliament is the address for solving the Kurdish issue, and DEM Party is naturally alongside this matter in parliament and politics. Öcalan's isolation policy must be lifted and he should be allowed to speak. This needs to happen as soon as possible - we say let him come, be present, and speak. Steps must be taken urgently on this matter without wasting any time. We're ready to pay any price for an honorable peace and building a democratic republic. Whatever is required of us, we're ready to do it. Let it be promised that an honorable peace will return to this country, and together we'll sing songs of peace."
This marks the first time Devlet Bahçeli, leader of Turkey's most nationalist party, has made such a call. 
Previously, prominent al-Monitor journalist Amberin Zaman had reported that the Turkish state was in dialogue with Öcalan, suggesting that this winter would be "warm" and Bahçeli's outreach to DEM Party would yield very different results.
Abdullah Öcalan's Capture
During the initial peace process in Turkey, an HDP delegation known as the İmralı delegation met with Öcalan several times, conveying messages between PKK and İmralı while delivering Öcalan's peace process letters to Qandil. However, on April 5, 2015, this door was closed to the İmralı delegation, and the peace process subsequently failed.
Abdullah Öcalan was captured in Kenya on Feb. 15, 1999, in an intelligence operation and was transported to Ankara by a special Turkish aircraft, then imprisoned on İmralı Island. According to PKK-affiliated media, Öcalan's lawyers have been denied visitation rights 768 times.