Türkiye allows pro-Kurdish party to meet with Öcalan
Turkey has decided to allow the pro-Kurdish party in the parliame to meet the imprisoned leader of the PKK, Abdullah Ocalan, the Turkish pro-governme newspaper reported today (Thursday).
According to Isna, the permission to hold this meeting is the first of its kind in nearly a decade.
The Turkish Democratic Party delegation is expected to go to Imrali Island prison on Thursday or Friday, Daily Sabah said on its website without citing a source.
According to Reuters, the decision was made after a key ally of Turkish Preside Recep Tayyip Erdogan called for the move as part of efforts to end the 40-year conflict between the governme and the outlawed milita group, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party of Turkey. He suggested to the P.K.K.
The conflict between the Turkish governme and the Kurds, especially the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), is one of the longest and most complex iernal conflicts in Turkey. These conflicts started in 1984 and coinue in differe forms. The PKK, founded in 1978 under the leadership of Abdullah Ocalan, declared its main goal to establish autonomy or independence for the Kurds of Türkiye.
Ocalan’s arrest
Abdullah Ocalan was arrested on February 15, 1999 during a joi ielligence operation between Türkiye and several other couries in Nairobi, Kenya. After his arrest, Öcalan was transferred to Türkiye and tried in court on charges of terrorism, armed rebellion against the Turkish governme, and responsibility for the deaths of thousands of people. He was initially seenced to death, but after the death penalty was abolished in Türkiye in 2002, his seence was changed to life imprisonme.
Öcalan has been accused of the following: leading an armed group that fought against the Turkish governme and sought separatism; planning and carrying out armed attacks that have resulted in the death of more than 40,000 people, including soldiers, civilians and security forces; Financing of terrorism and cooperation with iernational networks to advance the goals of PKK.
Since his arrest, Ocalan has been kept in Imrali Island prison in the Sea of Marmara for more than 25 years. He lives in extreme isolation and his only coact with the outside world has been through his defense lawyers and some family members.
Conflicts between Türkiye and the Kurds
Since the establishme of the PKK, armed conflicts between this group and the Turkish governme have caused instability and many human casualties. These conflicts are mainly concerated in the Kurdish regions of southeastern Türkiye, but in some cases, they have been extended to big cities. Despite several rounds of ceasefires and peace talks, including efforts in 2015-2012, the conflict coinues.
The issue of Kurds in Türkiye is still considered one of the main challenges of this coury due to political, ethnic and geopolitical complications. Despite the arrest of Öcalan, the PKK is still active and the conflict remains without a lasting solution.
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