ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A senior official from the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) has said that Abdullah Ocalan, the jailed leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), should be granted direct communication with the public and political parties in Turkey as part of the ongoing peace initiative aimed at ending decades of conflict.
“The conditions of Mr. Ocalan must change,” Ebru Gunay, Deputy Co-Chair and Co-Spokesperson of the DEM Party’s Foreign Affairs Commission, told Rudaw on Thursday. “Such a change would have a significant positive impact on public opinion.”
Gunay stressed that Ocalan’s “proposals and perspectives can no longer be delivered through third parties,” adding that he should be given access to communication tools enabling him to reach the public, political parties, and their representatives directly.
Asked about the main challenges hindering the peace process, Gunay said that a lasting solution in Turkey “can only be achieved through public consensus that is free from manipulation and misinformation,” emphasizing that media outlets — particularly mainstream ones — bear major responsibility for providing accurate information.
Gunay’s remarks come three days after a delegation from the Turkish parliamentary commission tasked with overseeing the PKK disarmament and the peace process held its first meeting with Ocalan.
The delegation included lawmakers from the principal supporters of the peace initiative — the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), its far-right ally the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), and the DEM Party. The visiting members were AKP’s Huseyin Yayman, DEM Party’s Gulistan Kılıç Kocyigit, and MHP’s Feti Yildiz.
The commission is scheduled to convene on December 4 to discuss the outcome of their meeting with Ocalan.
Gunay welcomed the rare visit to Imralı Island, where Ocalan has been held since 1999, calling it “successful.”
He said the meeting “indicates that a path toward legal reforms should be implemented,” adding that the DEM Party remains hopeful that the process will advance if all political parties in parliament — “especially the ruling party and the main opposition” — assume responsibility.
Earlier this year, a 51-member parliamentary commission was established to provide a legal framework for the peace talks between Ankara and the PKK, aimed at ending four decades of conflict.
In February, Ocalan issued a historic call for his followers to lay down their arms and dissolve the group he founded in 1978. The PKK complied with both directives by May. Since then, the group — which has temporarily rebranded as the Kurdistan Freedom Movement following its dissolution — has taken additional steps to support the process, most recently withdrawing its fighters from the strategic Mount Zap, an area Turkish forces have long struggled to capture despite years of military operations.
The group had repeatedly urged a meeting between Ocalan and the parliamentary delegation.
Murat Karayılan, a senior PKK commander, told the group’s media on Saturday that it is crucial for the commission to engage with Ocalan.
“Everyone who wants to protect Turkey’s future must act responsibly. From this perspective, the commission’s visit is a positive step and will strengthen the ground for a solution,” he told Sterk TV.
Karayılan renewed calls for Ocalan’s “physical freedom,” arguing that it would enable the peace process to move forward “in a healthy way.”
Niyaz Mustafa contributed to this article from Erbil.