Jailed PKK leader Ocalan 'likely’ to meet Turkish politicians amid peace talks
The potential talks would mark the first direct engagement of its kind since Abdullah Ocalan's capture in 1999.
ANKARA — Turkey’s pro-Kurdish Peoples' Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party said Wednesday that jailed Kurdish militant leader Abdullah Ocalan is expected to meet with figures across the Turkish political spectrum amid ongoing peace talks between him and Ankara.
Turkish authorities lifted Ocalan’s outside contact ban last October, allowing him to meet with his family, legal counsel and DEM officials amid efforts to end the four-decade conflict between Turkey and his outlawed militant group, the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) — paving the way for the PKK’s historic announcement in May that it was ending its armed struggle against Turkey and dissolving itself.
DEM Party spokesperson Aysegul Dogan said Wednesday that the scope of Ocalan’s meetings could expand to include figures from different political parties in addition to those from DEM.
“In the coming days, Mr. Ocalan will highly likely meet with representatives from different political parties as well,” Dogan said while speaking at a press conference in Ankara. She stopped short of elaborating on which political parties would be involved or whether the meetings would be held face-to-face or online.
