Turkiye: jailed Kurdish militant leader's message to be shared on Friday

Turkiye’s pro-Kurdish DEM Party will hold a press conference on 28 February to discuss talks with jailed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Ocalan and share an expected statement from him, a senior party official told Reuters on Wednesday.

The Justice Ministry has granted permission for a DEM delegation to visit the long-imprisoned Ocalan on Thursday, marking the third such visit since December, said a ministry official. This move is seen as part of a broader government initiative to have Ocalan call on the PKK separatist movement to disarm, potentially ending a decades-long insurgency against the Turkish state.

The DEM official said Ocalan’s message would be released on Friday, either in written or video format. While the party hopes the message will be delivered in video format for greater impact, government and ruling party sources have voiced opposition to any video statement, citing sensitivities over the PKK, which is designated as a terrorist organisation by Turkiye, the United States and the European Union.

Turkish Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc said on Wednesday that the party’s request for a video message from Ocalan was not possible, in line with previous government statements.

If the visit proceeds as planned, the DEM delegation will issue a statement upon their return. Ocalan has been held in near-total isolation on the prison island of Imrali since 1999, with only rare communication with the outside world.

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