The leader of Turkiye’s far-right nationalist party that’s allied with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan raised the possibility on Tuesday that the imprisoned leader of a militant Kurdish group could be granted parole if he renounces violence and disbands his organisation.
The unprecedented statement by Nationalist Movement Party leader Devlet Bahceli comes amid speculation that Mr. Erdogan is seeking support from Turkiye’s pro-Kurdish political party in Parliament to enact a new constitution that could allow him to stay in power for unlimited terms.
The current constitution does not allow Mr. Erdogan, who has been in power since 2003, to run for office again unless early elections are called.
The pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party, or DEM — the third largest party in Parliament — has long sought improved conditions for Abdullah Ocalan, the leader of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK.
Ocalan has been serving a life term on a prison island off Istanbul since 1999. DEM says Ocalan is currently kept in isolation.
The PKK has been fighting for an autonomous state in Turkiye’s southeast since 1984, and the violence has claimed tens of thousands of lives. The group is considered a terrorist organisation by Turkiye and its Western allies.
“Let the terrorist leader … unilaterally declare that terrorism is over and that his organisation has been dissolved,” Mr. Bahceli said in a speech in Parliament.
“If the terrorist leader’s isolation is lifted, let him come and speak at the DEM’s meeting in the Turkish Grand National Assembly. If he shows this determination, let the path for regulation toward the right to hope be opened,” Mr. Bahceli said, in reference to an imprisoned person’s right to rehabilitation and possible freedom.
Published – October 23, 2024 11:13 am IST
