Abdullah Öcalan, the imprisoned leader of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), told a visiting delegation on Friday that implementing the necessary legal steps is essential for the success of Turkey’s ongoing peace efforts, according to a statement released by the pro-Kurdish Democracy and Equality Party (DEM Party).
Öcalan, who has been jailed on İmralı Island in the Sea of Marmara since 1999, told the DEM Party delegation that it was “extremely important” to identify and carry out legal requirements “with a correct and comprehensive perspective.” He also argued that the ongoing peace efforts had created a period without clashes and prevented major risks, and he credited those involved with what he called “honorable work.”
Öcalan added that the second century of the Turkish Republic should be built on “peace and democratic law,” expressing his expectation that the momentum generated by the peace efforts must translate into binding legal frameworks.
The DEM Party delegation comprised Deputy Speaker of Parliament Pervin Buldan, lawmaker Mithat Sancar and lawyer Faik Özgür Erol. They traveled to İmralı as part of the work of the National Solidarity, Brotherhood and Democracy Commission, a parliamentary body formed in August to support the government’s initiative. The group also visited Öcalan on August 28 for consultations tied to the same commission.
Öcalan, founder of the PKK, in February 2025 called for the group to lay down its arms. In May the PKK declared it would disband, and on July 11 its fighters held a ceremony in the Kurdistan region of Iraq to begin destroying weapons, marking what Ankara called the start of the PKK’s historic disbanding and laying down of arms. The PKK is designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey and its Western allies.
Supporters see the initiative as a chance to end a conflict that has killed more than 40,000 people since the 1980s. Critics, however, remain wary of Öcalan’s role and the extent to which the government will allow genuine political and legal reforms to accompany the peace efforts.
