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Jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan told a rare visiting delegation from Turkey’s pro-Kurdish party that bolstering Turkish-Kurdish ties is vital and that he is ready to contribute to the process.
“Re-strengthening the Turkish-Kurdish brotherhood is not only a historical responsibility but also… an urgency for all peoples,” Ocalan said according to a statement from the DEM party Sunday.
The statement came one day after two of the party’s visited Ocalan on his prison island near Istanbul.
On Friday, Erdogan’s government approved DEM’s request to visit Ocalan, who founded the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which is designated a terror group by Turkey and its Western allies.
The move comes two months after the head of Turkey’s nationalist MHP party, Devlet Bahceli, extended Ocalan a shock olive branch, inviting him to parliament to renounce terror and disband his group, a move backed by Erdogan.
“I have the competence and determination to make a positive contribution to the new paradigm started by Mr Bahceli and Mr Erdogan,” Ocalan said, according to the DEM statement.
Ocalan said the visiting delegation would share his approach with both the state and political circles.
“In light of this, I am ready to take the necessary positive steps and make the call.”
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