Opposition parties in Turkey are calling on the government to publicly release the full minutes of a recent meeting between lawmakers and Abdullah Öcalan, the imprisoned leader of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), on the prison island of İmralı.
The meeting was attended by three lawmakers — one each from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), its key ally the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party).
Turkey’s decades-long conflict with the PKK, designated as a terrorist organization by Ankara and its Western allies, has claimed tens of thousands of lives.
The lawmakers traveled to İmralı, located in the Sea of Marmara, as part of a parliamentary commission formed in August to prepare the legal framework for a tentative peace between the state and the PKK.
The talks reportedly lasted nearly three hours and were recorded by the National Intelligence Organization (MİT), which also documented the proceedings in detail.
Despite this, the government has not committed to releasing the transcripts to the public. Current plans involve briefing other members of the commission verbally, prompting criticism from several parties.
Main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Özgür Özel said the ruling party offered the CHP a chance to quietly participate in the visit without public disclosure. Speaking to the Cumhuriyet daily, Özel said an AKP official told him the visit would not be publicly announced and that even the identity of the CHP representative could be kept confidential.
“They said: ‘There will be no video, no photo. No one will know when it happened. If you want, we’ll just say someone from CHP went,’” Özel stated. “I asked, ‘Is this really a visit, then?’ And they said, ‘That’s how it will be.’ That’s what made us reject the offer.”
Özel criticized the government’s handling of the process, accusing it of seeking political advantage while avoiding accountability.
“The AKP is trying to profit from this while shifting the risk to the MHP,” he said.
He argued that the commission overseeing the process must be provided with the full, unedited minutes of the meeting. “What is there that needs to remain secret at İmralı?” he asked. “If there’s nothing that needs to stay hidden, then we will support publishing it.”
DEM Party spokesperson Ayşegül Doğan described the meeting as a “historic event” and emphasized that transparency is essential. “Manipulating the records or keeping them hidden only increases suspicion,” she said. “Sharing them builds trust.”
Ahmet Şık, an MP from the Workers’ Party of Turkey (TİP), also urged publication of the minutes. “The commission’s work must remain under parliamentary oversight and be carried out transparently,” he said.
Other opposition parties, including the Democracy and Progress Party (DEVA), the Felicity Party (SP), the Future Party and the Democrat Party (DP), have expressed concern over the government’s approach. DEVA and its allies proposed that the entire commission meet with Öcalan via secure video link instead of sending a delegation, but the suggestion was rejected. They argue that transparency is crucial for democratic legitimacy.
The government said the talks were recorded and that nothing secret took place but has avoided confirming whether the transcripts will be made public. Meanwhile, opposition parties continue to push for full disclosure, insisting the public has a right to know what was discussed between the lawmakers and Öcalan.