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Turkish MPs Hold First Prison Meeting With Öcalan, Report ‘Positive Results’

Officials reported progress toward disarmament discussions focused on formally winding down the PKK.

Vermummte Personen halten ein Plakat in die Höhe, das das Porträt eines Mannes zeigt
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Die Mitglieder des türkischen Parlamentsausschusses für den Friedensprozess mit den Kurden haben den seit 1999 wegen Hochverrats inhaftierten Gründer der Arbeiterpartei Kurdistans (PKK), Abdullah Öcalan, erstmals im Gefängnis besucht.

Overview

  • The parliament presidency said the in-person talks on İmralı island produced positive results, with discussions centered on PKK dissolution, disarmament and possible integration of fighters into Syrian forces.
  • Media reports said three members of the peace process committee met Öcalan for roughly five hours in the first such visit since his 1999 imprisonment.
  • According to the Tageszeitung, the delegation included representatives from the ruling AKP, the ultranationalist MHP and the pro-Kurdish DEM party.
  • The visit was tightly managed, with the date kept secret and no photos released on President Erdoğan’s orders, and the delegation is due to brief the 50-member parliamentary commission on Wednesday.
  • The meeting follows the PKK’s May announcement that it would dissolve and end its armed campaign, and a July ceremony in Iraqi Kurdistan where about 30 fighters symbolically burned weapons after Öcalan’s call.