Turkey Allows DEM Party to Visit PKK Leader Ocalan for First Time in Decade

Dec 27, 2024, 04:56 PM

Turkey has granted permission for a delegation from the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM) to visit Abdullah Ocalan, the imprisoned leader of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), at his prison on Imrali island. This marks the first such visit in nearly a decade and follows a call from Devlet Bahceli, leader of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), for direct contact between the DEM and Ocalan to address the ongoing conflict. The visit is scheduled to take place on either Saturday or Sunday, depending on weather conditions. The DEM delegation will include MPs Sırrı Süreyya Önder and Pervin Buldan. Ocalan has been serving a life sentence since his capture 25 years ago.