Imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan visited by nephew amidst talks of new Kurdish opening

Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Öcalan,.imprisoned on İmralı Island in the Sea.of Marmara since 1999, was recently visited by his nephew Ömer Öcalan. The news of the visit comes following.recent signs of a potential reboot to Turkey’s long-stalled Kurdish ‘solution process’.

In a statement announcing that his visit had taken place,.Ömer Öcalan shared a message from his uncle,.who said: “I continue to be held in isolation. If the conditions are right, I am confident I have the power.to shift his process from one based in violence and conflict.to one based in law and politics.”

The meeting between Öcalan and his nephew reportedly lasted about.two hours and took place on Wednesday (October 23). Ömer Öcalan is currently a member.of the Turkish Parliament for the pro-Kurdish DEM Party.representing the city of Şanlıurfa in Turkey’s southeast.

Ömer Öcalan described the meeting as a “routine family visit” and.said “Regardless of the circumstances, we hope that such visits continue. He is in good health and extends his greetings to everyone.”

Reporting from Hürriyet writer Abdulkadir Selvi regarding the visit also.suggested that Abdullah Öcalan is prepared to call on PKK.militants to give up their arms if his isolation is lifted and is.allowed to communicate with the outside world.

Recent signs of a Kurdish opening Öcalan

On Tuesday (October 22) ultranationalist leader Devlet Bahçeli, Erdoğan’s coalition partner and chairman of the Nationalist Action Party (MHP), signalled an openness to releasing Öcalan should he agree to dissolve the PKK.

Also earlier in the week, Turkey’s main opposition leader Özgür Özel visited imprisoned Kurdish politician Selahattin Demirtaş in prison in Edirne.

In early October, Al-Monitor‘s Amberin Zaman released a report indicating that Abdullah Öcalan had been in recent contact with PKK militant leaders in northern Iraq, in which the possibility of negotiating disarmament was discussed. 

Additionally, Devlet Bahçeli’s warm handshakes with DEM Party officials at the opening of Turkey’s parliamentary session earlier this month fueled speculation that the ruling coalition may pursue a reboot of the Kurdish ‘solution process’, which was abandoned around 2015.

On Wednesday (October 23), however, two PKK militants attacked the Ankara headquarters of Turkish Aerospace Industries (TUSAŞ), a Turkish company specializing in the manufacture of parts for both commercial and defense aircraft.

Written/translated for Medyascope by Leo Kendrick

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