The Parliamentary Commission for National Solidarity, Brotherhood and Democracy went to Imralı Type F High Security Closed Penitentiary Institution on 24 November and met with Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan who has been held there since 1999.
The delegation included the deputy chair of the DEM Party, Gülistan Kılıç Koçyiğit, the deputy chair of the MHP, Feti Yıldız, and AKP member of parliament Hüseyin Yayman. The delegation traveled to the prison island in the Sea of Marmara by helicopter.
According to a written statement by the commission after the visit to Imralı, the meeting addressed Abdullah Öcalan’s February 27 Call for Peace and Democratic Society, the PKK’s subsequent announcement of self-dissolution and disarmament, as well as the implementation of the 10 March agreement in Syria. “As a result of the meeting, positive outcomes were achieved in terms of advancing the process for social cohesion, strengthening brotherhood, and developing a regional perspective,” the Commission said.
During his party’s group meeting in Parliament on Tuesday, MHP (Nationalist Movement Party) Chairman Devlet Bahçeli commented on the commission’s visit to Imrali.
The MHP leader responded to those who accused the commission of committing a crime, and said, “I am shouting out boldly: as long as the Turkish nation finds peace, tranquility, and serenity, as long as terrorism is permanently eradicated from our lives, let our end be the gallows.”
Bahçeli added: “One of the most significant counterparts to the goal of a terror-free Turkey is Imrali. In line with the decision taken by a qualified majority to visit Imrali last Friday, one MP each from the Nationalist Movement Party, the AK Party, and the DEM Party visited the island, which is a historic development. On this occasion, I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to Fethi Yıldız and our other MPs. Let the Republican People’s Party and the other parties on the commission refrain from going to Imrali if they wish.”