After meeting Erdoğan, DEM Party delegation to visit Öcalan in Imrali

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Following a meeting with the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, a delegation from the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) is set to visit the Imrali Island prison to meet Abdullah Öcalan, the imprisoned leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), as part of renewed discussions over the peace process in Türkiye.

According to the decision announced on Sunday, Nov. 3, 2025, the DEM Party delegation—consisting of Pervin Buldan, Mithat Sancar, and Faysal Özgür Erol—will travel to Imrali to convey the outcomes of their recent talks with Erdoğan and discuss the latest developments in the peace process.

The visit follows the meeting between Buldan and Sancar with Erdoğan on Oct. 30, 2025, in Ankara, marking the third time the Turkish president has received the Imrali delegation from the DEM Party.

The upcoming meeting aims to deliver Erdoğan’s views and proposals to Öcalan, while exploring new pathways for reviving the long-stalled peace process. DEM Party Co-Chair Tülay Hatimoğulları emphasized that practical and confidence-building steps must accompany political dialogue.

Hatimoğulları called for the immediate reactivation of a parliamentary commission to oversee the peace process and to facilitate dialogue with Öcalan. She also reiterated several key demands, including the removal of state-appointed trustees from municipal offices, the release of ill prisoners, and the implementation of European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) rulings as initial gestures toward restoring trust.

“Concrete and confidence-building measures are essential for any genuine peace process,” Hatimoğulları said, urging the government to “act swiftly in re-establishing the parliamentary peace commission and enabling dialogue with Imrali.”

The renewed momentum follows Erdoğan’s third meeting with the DEM Party’s “Imrali delegation” on Oct. 30, 2025, at the presidential complex in Ankara. During the talks, both sides reviewed the progress and future prospects of the peace process.

Following the meeting, Buldan and Sancar released a statement highlighting that they had conducted a “comprehensive assessment” of the current phase of democratic dialogue and peace efforts, describing the discussion as “mutual and constructive.”

“We reached a shared understanding and convergence with President Erdoğan on the necessary steps to ensure that the process proceeds more swiftly and effectively,” the DEM Party statement read.

This development coincides with a historic declaration from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which recently announced the withdrawal of its forces from Turkish territory. The decision, made during the PKK’s 12th Congress, included a resolution to reorganize the movement and bring an end to its armed struggle.

The convergence of these events — the DEM Party’s renewed engagement with Erdoğan, the planned visit to Öcalan, and the PKK’s military withdrawal — signals a potentially transformative moment for the Kurdish question in Türkiye.

If realized, the Imrali visit could serve as a practical step toward reopening dialogue between Ankara and Kurdish representatives, reigniting hopes for a new phase in the peace process that will reshape Türkiye’s political landscape.