Turkey eyes legal steps after Kurdish militant group PKK lays down arms
A "major" shift is needed to repair broken ties between the Turkish state and the country's Kurdish minority following the historic decision by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) to lay down arms, its jailed founder said Sunday.
The message from Abdullah Öcalan was conveyed through a delegation from the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), which visited the İmralı prison island near İstanbul, where Öcalan has been serving a life sentence since 1999.
It was their first visit since the May 12 announcement of the PKK, which aimed to draw a line under the conflict that began in 1984, when the PKK took up arms. More than 40,000 people have been killed since.
"What we are doing involves a major paradigm shift," wrote the 76-year-old PKK leader.
"The Turkish-Kurdish relationship is like a brotherly relationship that is broken. Brothers and sisters fight, but they can't exist without each other," he said, calling for "a new agreement based on the concept of brotherhood."
"We must clear away, one by one, all the traps and minefields that spoil this relationship. We must repair the broken roads and bridges."
Only DEM Party lawmaker Pervin Buldan visited Öcalan during this latest trip, accompanied by lawyer Özgür Erol. The visit followed the recent death of veteran Turkish peacemaker Sırrı Süreyya Önder.
Önder, a former deputy speaker of the Turkish parliament, died on May 3 after suffering cardiac arrest, just days before the PKK's historic announcement.
He had spent years working to end the conflict with Turkey's Kurdish population, earning respect from across the political spectrum.
Since December, Önder had been part of a delegation that visited Öcalan several times, shuttling messages between him and Turkey's political leadership and paving the way for the PKK's move.
"I had a hankering to speak to Sırrı Süreyya Önder one last time," Öcalan wrote, describing him as "a wise person for Turkey" and saying he left behind "a cherished memory that we need to keep alive."
The government has said it will closely monitor the PKK laying down its arms. In return, observers expect Ankara to show new openness toward the Kurdish population, which makes up about 20 percent of Turkey's 85 million people.
Öcalan is unlikely to be released, as his life could come under threat, but officials say the conditions of his imprisonment are likely to be eased.