Turkey's Bahceli wants Ocalan to have official status

ANKARA,— Turkish nationalist party leader Devlet Bahceli said Tuesday the jailed Kurdish leader and head of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, PKK, should be assigned an official position to help move forward a peace effort aimed at ending a conflict lasting decades.

Bahceli, a close ally of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who in 2024 effectively launched the initiative with a public call for peace, presented the idea one week after pro Kurdish lawmakers criticized the government for what they described as slow progress.

“If there is a lack of status for Abdullah Ocalan, this should be resolved in a way that benefits the Republic of Turkey and supports the aim of a terror free country,” Bahceli said during a speech in parliament.

To conclude these debates, he proposed the creation of what he called the Peace Process and Politicisation Coordination Office, adding that the founding PKK leader should take part under a clearly defined role.

Gulistan Kilic Kocyigit, a senior lawmaker from the pro Kurdish DEM Party, welcomed the proposal in remarks to Reuters.

She said his evaluation of the process and renewed focus on legislation, stressing that such a law would move the process forward, were valuable. She also said his repeated reference to Ocalan’s role and linking that role to a defined status was important.

Kocyigit added that the speech could help revive the process, make it easier to manage and open the way for further progress.

The PKK formally ends its armed struggle against the Turkish state and said in May it had chosen to dissolve and end its armed campaign, following a February 2025 appeal by Ocalan.

Despite that step, disagreement continues over what should follow. Ankara says disarmament must first be confirmed before any legal or political action is taken, while Kurdish political groups are calling for quicker reforms.

Bahceli said the next phase should involve political and legal steps and noted that proposals from all parties in parliament should be reviewed.

The PKK began its armed campaign in 1984 against the Turkish state, seeking greater autonomy in Turkish Kurdistan for the Kurdish minority, which made up nearly 30 percent of Turkey’s population of 85 million based on 2012 data.

The conflict has led to more than 40,000 deaths, including Turkish troops and Kurdish fighters, according to Turkey.

PKK KCK Mustafa Karasu Sozdar Avesta May 5, 2026 — KCK (Kurdistan Communities Union) Executive Council Member Mustafa Karasu, right, and KCK General Presidency Council Member Sozdar Avesta at a press conference on May 5, 2025. Photo: Screengrab/video/ANF

PKK calls on Turkey to remove barriers in peace process

Two senior PKK members also called on Turkish authorities to remove what they described as barriers to progress in peace talks, one year after the group declared it would disband.

Mustafa Karasu and Sozdar Avesta, speaking in Kurdish and Turkish in a video from an undisclosed location, urged the government to adopt necessary legislative measures to ensure smooth progress, in comments published by the pro-PKK Firat news agency ANF.

They said recent statements by Turkish officials suggesting the process is advancing without difficulty do not match the situation on the ground.

According to them, the PKK has fulfilled its responsibilities beyond expectations.

The two figures also pointed to the situation of jailed founder Abdullah Ocalan, who has directed efforts to end the conflict from his prison cell on Imrali island, where he has been held since 1999.

They said progress would depend on defining his status and providing conditions that would allow him to work freely.

They called for the 77 year old to receive a clear legal and political status that would allow full participation in talks with the Turkish state.

Bahceli also called Tuesday for discussions about Ocalan’s future.

(With files from AFP | Reuters)