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The parliamentary committee supervising the terror-free Türkiye initiative decided on Friday with a closed session vote that its members will visit the PKK terrorist group’s jailed ringleader, Abdullah Öcalan, in his island prison Imralı.
The National Solidarity, Brotherhood and Democracy Committee made the decision in a closed session at Parliament. The move is a part of its mandate to support the initiative that seeks to end four decades of PKK terrorism in Türkiye.
Having faced heightening calls for a hearing from Öcalan himself as it nears completion of its task, the 51-member committee needed at least 26 votes to approve an Imralı visit.
The main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) rejected holding the session behind closed doors and left the meeting in protest. It said it would not join the voting session either but assured it would maintain its support for the initiative.
Ahead of the meeting, CHP Deputy Chair Murat Emir also said the party would not send a representative to Imralı if the visit is approved.
“It’s possible to have a more inclusive process via technological means instead of sending five lawmakers to the island,” Emir told reporters. “We don’t want anything to be hidden from the public.”
Party delegations are continuing internal evaluations as the committee proceeds toward determining which members would participate in a potential trip to Imralı.
The anticipated visit, which is largely expected to be approved, would take place within the next couple of days “without waiting any longer”, officials have said.
Meanwhile, deputy chair of the government ally Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), Feti Yıldız said he would go to Imralı on behalf of the MHP if the committee approves the visit.
MHP leader Devlet Bahçeli upped the ante in his bid for the elimination of the PKK terrorist group on Tuesday, when he volunteered to hold talks with Öcalan.
Addressing lawmakers of his party at Parliament on Tuesday, Bahçeli said he wouldn’t take offense at going to Imralı, marking yet another significant shift in the discourse of a veteran nationalist politician who once called for the hanging of Öcalan. As a matter of fact, he launched the terror-free Türkiye initiative by shaking hands with lawmakers of a party he once called for closure for its links to the PKK.
In his speech on Tuesday, Bahçeli said there should not be foot-dragging in the committee’s visit to Imralı, as he earlier called on the committee to hold indirect or direct talks with Öcalan in one of its future sessions.
Öcalan is incarcerated at the Imralı island prison near Istanbul and responded to Bahçeli’s call for the PKK’s dissolution last year by urging his terrorist group to dissolve last February.
In July, the PKK started the disarmament process with a ceremony in northern Iraq. The group’s disarmament is expected to be completed by the end of 2025.
Earlier this month, the group announced it withdrew from a key stronghold in northern Iraq near the Turkish border, one month after it announced its withdrawal from Turkish territories.
In the coming months, the parliamentary committee is expected to draft a report that will serve as a guide to Parliament to take the next steps in the initiative, namely, regulations or bills to accelerate the process.
