Bahçeli calls on jailed PKK leader Öcalan to 'end terrorism,’ DEM Party demands end of latter’s contact ban

Duvar English

Turkish government-ally, far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli on Oct. 15 continued his reconciliation efforts with the Kurds.

Speaking at the parliamentary group meeting of his party, Bahçeli said, “(My hand-shaking) is an (offer) without calculation. It is sincere and well-intentioned. We do this not for a process, but for brotherhood and destiny. Let them show that they thirst for brotherhood, not blood.”

“Let the CHP leadership answer whether they are in favor of the establishment of a 4-part Kurdistan or not. Let the terrorist leader (Öcalan), who said 'I am open to all kinds of services' when he was brought to Turkey, come out and declare that he has ended terrorism,” he added.

In a surprising move on Oct. 1, Bahçeli shook hands with DEM Party deputies at the opening session of the Parliament.

He later “invited” the DEM Party to “become a party of Turkey.” Previously, he called for the closure of the DEM Party on several occasions, accusing them of collaborating with the outlawed PKK.

Later on, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan backed Bahçeli and pointed to a new constitution to resolve the Kurdish issue.

That’s why, some critics said that Erdoğan might want to reconcile with the DEM Party so that he can run for the presidency once again as the current constitution limits the presidency to two terms of five years.

The government officials often pointed to increasing tension in the Middle East, and said they needed to “make peace at home.”

“We are among those who know best the devastation caused by the PKK terrorism that has been going on since 1984. There is no connection between terror and politics. No one should expect the state to sit at the (negotiation) table with terrorism. The state does not negotiate with terrorist organizations, it fights them hand to hand. I will never forgive the misinterpretation of (my hand-shaking),” Bahçeli added.

In response, pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party co-chair Tuncer Bakırhan on Oct. 15 demanded the abolishment of the contact ban imposed on the outlawed PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan, who is jailed in İmralı Island.

“Mr. Bahçeli, like you, we are curious to see what Öcalan will say. Then lift the isolation, let's see what Mr. Öcalan says,” Bakırhan added.

PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan has been kept in isolation for 24 years in F Type High-Security Prison on İmralı Island in Bursa, serving a life sentence. The jailed PKK leader last had a brief phone call with his brother on March 25, 2021. Since the interrupted phone call, no information has been received from Öcalan as well as other prisoners on the island, Hamili Yıldırım, Veysi Aktaş, and Ömer Hayri Konar.

Meanwhile, Deputy Parliamentary Speaker Sırrı Süreyya Önder, from the DEM Party, “thanked” Erdoğan and Bahçeli on the same day. “I would like to personally thank Mr. President, Mr. Devlet Bahçeli, and all those who put their hearts into the issue of peace - on behalf of myself, as someone who has paid a price for this issue, but who cares more about his honor than his price - I would like to thank them all. An open hand means 'I have nothing bad in my hand'.”

The Peace Process

The outlawed PKK launched its first attack in 1984 and the 1990s saw intense conflict between the PKK and Turkish Military especially in the country's southeastern region. Erdoğan's government started to take steps regarding the Kurdish question in 2009 and initiated a "peace process" between 2013–2015 with the armed organization.

Nonetheless, the peace process failed in 2015 and an intense armed conflict erupted in southeastern Turkey until 2016. Dozens of civilians died and many cities were demolished during the period.