The first concrete moves within the framework of revitalized peace talks between Turkey's AKP government and Abdullah Ocalan, the imprisoned founding leader of the Kurdish movement PKK, which has been waging armed insurrection against the central authority for 29 years, are expected to come from the PKK.
What has been reported about the long meeting between three members of Parliament of the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) and Ocalan at the Imrali Island Prison, where he is serving a life sentence, led to expectations in Turkish public opinion in two key areas: hostage releases and a cease-fire.
Ocalan, whose moral and political authority over the Kurdish movement that is product of his organizational skills still continues after 14 years in prison, gave a short note to the Kurdish parliamentarians to share with the public. Pervin Buldan, one of three BDP members of parliament permitted to visit Ocalan, read that note to the public. It had this suggestion addressed to the PKK: “The state has prisoners. The PKK has prisoners. The PKK must treat its prisoners well. I hope they will return to their families soonest.”
This remark was interpreted as the PKK willingness to release soon some of the 16 hostages, five of them state officials, it has been holding for a long time. If realized, this will be the first concrete confidence-building measure of the process. If further moves follow on a positive track, a second development expected in the near future would be Ocalan’s calls for a nonaction phase and for PKK’s armed forces to leave Turkish territory.
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