Turkey’s pro-Kurdish opposition Peoples’ Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party announced on Wednesday that it is preparing a high-level visit to İmralı Island to meet with imprisoned Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan, urging the Turkish Parliament to form a special commission aimed at reviving dialogue for a peaceful and democratic resolution to the country’s decades-old Kurdish question.
Ayşegül Doğan, DEM’s spokesperson, told reporters in Ankara on Wednesday that the party has finalised plans for a delegation — including its co-leaders — to travel to İmralı “as soon as possible” to meet Öcalan, who has been jailed since 1999 and held in near-total isolation for years.
“Such a meeting is essential to understand the current moment and to build a roadmap for the future,” Doğan said during a press briefing following the party’s Central Executive Committee meeting. She added that Öcalan may also meet representatives of other political parties in the near future, highlighting his continued relevance in discussions around Turkey’s Kurdish question.
Öcalan, the founder of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), has been serving a life sentence on İmralı Island in the Sea of Marmara since 1999. While his influence on the PKK and broader Kurdish movement remains strong, he has not been allowed visits from lawyers or family members in recent years. The last known direct communication with him was in 2021, and access remains tightly restricted.
Doğan stated that multiple opposition parties have requested greater transparency and direct contact regarding the evolving Kurdish question. “There’s a clear demand for communication and information. We are not only speaking to parties in Parliament but also to those outside of it,” she said. She also confirmed that conversations with the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and its far-right ally Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) have occurred and will continue.
The DEM Party, currently the third-largest group in the parliament, is calling for the establishment of a specially mandated parliamentary commission to explore a political resolution to the Kurdish conflict. “This is not just the problem of Kurds, it is a democratic and humanitarian issue for all of Turkey,” Doğan said, urging Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş to take initiative before the legislative recess begins.
She suggested a cross-party summit to draft terms of reference for such a commission, adding, “We have prepared a detailed proposal covering the structure, procedure, and scope of the commission.”
Doğan also revealed that Öcalan has authored a new political text or “perspective programme,” which she described as expansive, inclusive, and aimed at sparking wide public debate. The document, she said, critiques traditional ideologies from sectarianism to rigid socialism, and proposes a framework for shared life and democratic governance.
“This is a call for conversation, for critique, for participation. It opens a space for everyone,” she said, adding that Öcalan’s intention is to meet with key regional leaders — including Masoud and Nechirvan Barzani in Iraqi Kurdistan, and Syrian Democratic Forces Commander Mazloum Abdi — as well as with influential political figures like Qubad and Bafel Talabani.
“We believe these meetings, if allowed, could contribute to stability and democratic transformation in the region,” Doğan said.
The DEM Party maintains that only through direct dialogue and transparent political channels can a meaningful solution emerge. “A historical moment is unfolding,” Doğan concluded. “To write a new chapter in Turkey’s future, all actors must take bold initiatives — and take risks.”
