Turkish parties split over Bahçeli’s proposal for Öcalan status in peace process

Turkey’s political parties have reacted sharply to far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli’s proposal to give jailed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Öcalan a formal role in the country’s ongoing peace initiative, with the pro-Kurdish party endorsing the call and nationalist and conservative parties rejecting it.

Bahçeli, a key ally of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, on Tuesday said at his party’s parliamentary group meeting that Öcalan’s status “could no longer be ignored” and proposed that he be given the title of “coordinator for the peace process and transition to politics.”

Tuncer Bakırhan, co-chair of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), welcomed Bahçeli’s remarks during his party’s group meeting in parliament later the same day, saying the MHP leader had raised a “historic” question.

“We endorse the framework Mr. Bahçeli put forward today in his group meeting regarding status and legal steps,” he added.

Bakırhan said the process could no longer be delayed, adding that peace required courage and that its seriousness would be measured by whether parliament put it within a legal framework.

Addressing Erdoğan, the DEM Party leader referred to the president’s earlier remark that those who carry the process to the end would go down in history. “We say: History is written by those who show courage. Come, let us write history together, Mr. Erdoğan,” he said.

The main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) gave a more cautious response, saying it still supported steps that would advance both peace and democratization.

CHP parliamentary group deputy chairman Murat Emir said the party had maintained the same position throughout the work of a parliamentary commission set up to advance the peace efforts, saying that its report should not be left “on the shelf” and that parliament should act collectively.

Nationalist, conservative parties reject proposal

The strongest criticism came from the nationalist opposition İYİ (Good) Party, whose leader, Müsavat Dervişoğlu, denounced Bahçeli’s proposal during his party’s parliamentary group meeting on Wednesday.

Dervişoğlu questioned how a person serving a prison sentence could be granted an official field of authority under Turkey’s legal system and described the proposal as “madness.”

“Come to your senses! Do not make the world laugh at you!” Dervişoğlu said.

Ümit Özdağ, leader of the far-right and anti-refugee Victory Party (ZP), also harshly criticized the proposal, saying it was the result of “negotiations” with the PKK and arguing that public order and national security could not be secured in this way.

Özdağ called on the public to gather under the ZP against the process and to defend Turkey’s constitution, national unity and a “national, unitary, secular state.”

Fatih Erbakan, leader of the Islamist New Welfare Party (YRP), called for a referendum on the issue, saying the process could no longer be managed through Bahçeli’s statements.

Erbakan said Bahçeli had now clearly voiced his final proposal by calling for a “peace process coordinator” status for Öcalan.

He said his party supported the goal of a “terrorism-free Turkey” but could not accept the process being reduced to Öcalan’s release or his involvement in politics in Ankara.

Öcalan, 77, has been held on İmralı Island since his capture in 1999 and is serving a life sentence. He has played a central role in past and recent efforts to end Turkey’s decades-long conflict with the PKK, which is designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey and its Western allies.

Bahçeli, a longtime nationalist hardliner, has played a central role in reviving debate on a possible settlement. In October 2024 he asked Öcalan to instruct his group to renounce its armed campaign while hinting that the end of PKK violence could lead to Öcalan’s freedom.

Öcalan made a landmark call in February 2025, urging the PKK to convene a congress, lay down its arms and formally disband. Following the call, the PKK announced in May 2025 that it would lay down its weapons and dissolve itself.

Turkey previously engaged in a peace process with the PKK between 2013 and 2015, during which Öcalan played a key role from prison by issuing messages calling for a ceasefire and negotiations. The process collapsed in 2015 amid renewed violence, leading to intensified military operations and a broader crackdown on Kurdish political actors.

The PKK, founded by Öcalan in 1978, has waged an armed insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984, claiming more than 40,000 lives.