 leader Abdullah Öcalan said the strengthening of Turkish-Kurdish ties is vital and that he is ready to contribute to the process, in a rare meeting with representatives of the Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), according to a statement released by the party on Sunday, Agence France-Presse reported.){kind=link}
Jailed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Öcalan said the strengthening of Turkish-Kurdish ties is vital and that he is ready to contribute to the process, in a rare meeting with representatives of the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), according to a statement released by the party on Sunday, Agence France-Presse reported.
“Re-strengthening the Turkish-Kurdish brotherhood is not only a historic responsibility but also a matter of urgency for all peoples,” Öcalan said. The statement followed a visit by two DEM Party representatives to İmralı Island, where Öcalan is imprisoned.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s government recently granted the DEM Party’s request to meet with Öcalan, who founded the PKK, a group designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey and its Western allies. This visit comes two months after Devlet Bahçeli, leader of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), extended an invitation to Öcalan to renounce violence and dissolve the PKK, a gesture supported by Erdoğan.
“I have the competence and determination to contribute positively to the new paradigm initiated by Mr. Bahçeli and Mr. Erdoğan,” Öcalan said, adding that the visiting delegation would relay his perspective to both state officials and political stakeholders.
“In light of this, I am ready to take the necessary positive steps and make the call.”