Ocalan expresses readiness for peace talks in Imrali meeting with DEM Party

Dec. 29, 2024

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) - On Sunday, the Peoples' Democratic and Equality Party (DEM Party) released a statement describing the results of their Saturday meeting (Dec. 28, 2024) with Abdullah Ocalan, the imprisoned leader of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), at İmralı Prison.

The DEM Party reported that "Ocalan's health is good and his morale is very high."

Concerning the meeting's agenda, they revealed that "an evaluation of the recent developments in the Middle East and Turkey was conducted, and Mr. Ocalan offered positive solution proposals against the dark scenarios being imposed."

As stated by the statement, Ocalan highlighted that "consolidation of Kurdish-Turkish brotherhood, while being a historical responsibility, has concurrently become a vital and critical necessity for all peoples."

Furthermore, according to the DEM party statement Ocalan has said that "for the process to succeed, all political parties in Turkey must take initiative and maintain positive and constructive positions without being caught up in temporary and narrow calculations. Certainly, one of the most important venues for this participation will be the Turkish Parliament."

Concerning statements by some Turkish officials about resolving the Kurdish issue, Ocalan declared, "I have the capacity and will for necessary positive participation in Erdoğan and Bahçeli's call for dialogue."

He added that "this era is the era of peace, democracy, and brotherhood for Turkey and the region."

Ocalan also stated that "the events in Gaza and Syria have revealed that the resolution of the Kurdish issue, which attempts are being made to complicate through external intervention, should no longer be delayed."

Moreover, he underlined that "the DEM Party delegation will discuss my perspective with the state and political parties. In light of these, I am prepared to take positive steps and make calls, believing that all these efforts will elevate the country to its deserved level while also being a valuable leader for democratic change."

Abdullah Ocalan, detained since 1999 on Turkey's İmralı Island, is the founder of the PKK, an organization designated as terrorist by Turkey and several Western countries.

The DEM Party, successor to the HDP, is a pro-Kurdish political party in Turkey that advocates for Kurdish rights and democratic solutions to the Kurdish issue.

The meeting comes amid ongoing regional tensions and discussions about potential resolution of the decades-long Kurdish conflict in Turkey.