During its 18th meeting last Friday, the National Solidarity, Brotherhood, and Democracy Commission decided by a majority vote to meet with Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan in İmralı Island Prison, where he has been held since 1999.
Earlier today, a delegation from the commission left for the prison island of Imrali today to have a meeting with the Kurdish leader. According to the Commission, the aim of the meeting is to document Öcalan’s views on key political issues. Among other things, the discussion will focus on the background to the founding of the PKK, proposals for resolving the Kurdish question, previous peace initiatives, and legislative processes. The transcripts of the conversation are to remain under lock and key for a period of ten years.
Speaking to journalists on Monday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said: “We maintain close dialogue both with Mr. Bahçeli and with our counterparts in the MHP. We also receive delegations from the DEM Party at regular intervals. We have managed to navigate the process without problems thus far using this working model.”
Erdoğan added, “The commission established in Parliament was very important in terms of the involvement and contribution of different political parties in the process. Under the chairmanship of the Speaker of Parliament, the commission accomplished important work. We also provided every kind of contribution and support to the commission.”
Drawing attention to the commission’s decision to visit Imrali, Erdoğan said, “We consider the commission’s latest decision to be one that paves the way for the process and will contribute to it.”