Sırrı Süreyya Önder, a member of the Turkish parliament representing Istanbul for the opposition DEM Party, passed away on Saturday (May 3) after experiencing a heart attack on April 15th.
| Leader in Kurdish peace process and veteran politician, Sırrı Süreyya Önder dead at 62 |
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| Leader in Kurdish peace process and veteran politician, Sırrı Süreyya Önder dead at 62 |
Önder’s death was announced by the Florence Nightingale Hospital in Istanbul, where he had been in critical condition for two and a half weeks. An announcement from the hospital identified Önder’s cause of death as ‘multiple organ failure’.
In addition to his membership in parliament, Önder was well-known for his role in the ongoing Kurdish peace process, which involved multiple visits to the prison island of İmrali in the Sea of Marmara to visit Abdullah Öcalan, the imprisoned leader of the banned Kurdish Workers Party (PKK).
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Önder leaves behind long legacy of progressive activism
Born in Turkey’s southeastern Adıyaman province, Önder’s early activist years as a student were marked by events such as the 1978 massacre of Alevis in Kahramanmaraş, as well as the 1980 military coup d’etat, after which he spent time in prison before being released in 1987.
Önder entered parliament for the first time in 2011 as an MP for the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP), a pro-Kurdish predecessor of the current DEM Party. He gained prominence in the 2013 Gezi Park protests, in which a famous photograph showed him standing between a bulldozer and a tree due for removal.
Önder was also active in the first Kurdish peace process from 2013-2015, which also included several meetings with PKK leader Öcalan. In 2018, Önder spent time in prison on charges of ‘spreading terrorist propaganda’. He was reelected to parliament in Turkey’s general elections in spring 2023, where he served as Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly.
Önder leaves behind unfinished peace initiative
Since October 2024, Önder had played a leading role in a new initiative aimed at solving Turkey’s decades-running Kurdish issue. He was part of a delegation consisting of other DEM Party veterans such as Pervin Buldan and Ahmet Türk who made multiple visits to İmralı Island, culminating in Abdullah Öcalan’s February 27th announcement calling for PKK militants to lay down their arms.
Despite the PKK leader’s landmark announcement, the peace process remains unresolved amidst new developments such as the March 19th jailing of Istanbul Mayor and opposition presidential candidate Ekrem İmamoğlu. Other questions discussed or rumored as part of the peace process, such as the possibility of Öcalan’s transfer to house arrest or the freeing of imprisoned Kurdish leader Selahattin Demirtaş, remain unanswered at the time of Sırrı Süreyya Önder’s passing.
Written/translated for Medyascope by Leo Kendrick
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