 announced on Friday plans to meet with imprisoned Kurdish politicians Selahattin Demirtaş and Figen Yüksekdağ this weekend to discuss developments following their landmark meeting with Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Öcalan.){kind=link}
Delegates from the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) announced on Friday plans to meet with imprisoned Kurdish politicians Selahattin Demirtaş and Figen Yüksekdağ this weekend to discuss developments following their landmark meeting with Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Öcalan.
The DEM Party delegation will meet with Demirtaş at Edirne Prison on Saturday and Yüksekdağ at Kandıra Prison on Sunday. Both meetings are set to begin at 1 p.m. local time, according to a party statement.
Demirtaş and Yüksekdağ are former co-chairs of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), the DEM Party’s predecessor, and have been imprisoned since 2016 on charges widely criticized by international human rights organizations as politically motivated.
The planned visits are part of the DEM Party’s broader outreach to advance peace talks after meeting with Öcalan at a prison on İmralı Island in late December.
During that historic engagement Öcalan expressed readiness to support peace talks aimed at ending Turkey’s decades-long Kurdish conflict. The DEM Party has since been consulting with major political parties and key figures in Turkish politics.
While no statements are expected immediately following the prison visits, the party indicated that a comprehensive briefing would be provided at a later date.
Demirtaş, a charismatic politician and human rights advocate, has been a central figure in Turkey’s Kurdish political movement. Once referred to by observers as the “Kurdish Obama” for his eloquence and broad appeal, Demirtaş was arrested in November 2016 on terrorism-related charges stemming from his speeches and political activities. He has repeatedly called for peaceful solutions to the Kurdish issue and remains a symbol of resistance for many supporters as he repeatedly defied President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan with outspoken criticism.
Yüksekdağ, who served alongside Demirtaş as HDP co-chair, has similarly faced accusations tied to her political activities. Known for her outspoken stance on women’s rights and minority issues, Yüksekdağ’s imprisonment has attracted criticism from European and international bodies, including the European Court of Human Rights.
The DEM Party delegation’s meetings with Demirtaş and Yüksekdağ aim to incorporate their perspectives into the ongoing political consultations.
Over the past two weeks the party has engaged with representatives from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), the Democracy and Progress Party (DEVA), the Felicity Party (SP) and the New Welfare Party (YRP), among others. These discussions have centered on leveraging Öcalan’s influence to create a framework for renewed peace talks.
The PKK, a Marxist-inspired militant group founded by Öcalan in 1978, has been engaged in an armed insurgency against Turkey that has claimed tens of thousands of lives. Designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey and its Western allies, the PKK’s conflict with the Turkish state has long been a contentious issue in domestic and international politics. Efforts to negotiate peace have repeatedly faltered, most notably with the collapse of the 2013-2015 resolution process.