Turkey: “Adullah Ocalan will make historic appeal for a permanent solution to the Kurdish issue”

The imprisoned leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party ( ), has begun in recent months an approach with the Turkish government to permanently resolve the Kurdish issue in Turkey. Both the far-right populist Devlet Bachceli and Recep Tayyip Erdogan have recognised Abdullah Ocalan’s initiatives in this direction, with the two government partners setting as a key condition the dissolution of the PKK and the disarmament of its militants. CORVERSE In this context, the Turkish pro-Kurdish Party of Equality Peoples and Democracy (DEM) said today (04.02.2020) that Abdullah Ocalan will soon make a “historical appeal”, amid political efforts to end the long conflict with the Turkish state. “ Ocalan is preparing to make a historic appeal over the next few days for a permanent solution to the Kurdish issue. Ocalan is preparing and will make this appeal soon, ” Dem co-chair, Tunjeer Bakirhan, told the parliamentary group of his party at the Turkish National Assembly. It is recalled that for the first time in ten years, in late December, Members of the pro-Kurdish party met Ocalan, after permission from the Turkish government. CORVERSE The approach to solving Kurdish The 75-year-old today “Apo” (the nickname of the founder of the PKK) had then supported the approach between Turks and Kurds speaking of “historic responsibility” and had stated that he was “decided” to participate in the reconciliation process initiated by Ankara. In fact, after the first meeting with the representatives of the DEM, Ocalan expressed the intention to invite the PKK to testify. In mid-January, Turkish President Recep Tayyyip Erdogan welcomed a “significant progress” in this dialogue with the PKK. Observers say that a possible call from Ocalan to the Kurds for disarmament can be made on 15 February , the date of his 1999 capture in Nairobi. Another possible date for such a (historic) announcement, March 20th, on the occasion of Nevroz, the Kurdish New Year, whenever celebrations take place in the majority of Kudos areas in southeastern Turkey.