AKP, DEM Party, MHP lawmakers to visit Öcalan on İmralı

ANKARA

A delegation of three Turkish lawmakers is scheduled to visit jailed PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan on İmralı Island this week, following approval by the parliamentary commission steering the country’s renewed peace initiative.

The National Solidarity, Brotherhood and Democracy Commission endorsed the visit in a closed session on Nov. 21, with 32 of its 51 members voting in favor.

A representative from each of the three parties steering the process — Hüseyin Yayman of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), Gülistan Kılıç Koçyiğit of the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) and Feti Yıldız of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) — will join the mission.

The lawmakers are expected to reach the island via a Coast Guard helicopter. Under strict prison rules, the lawmakers will not be allowed to bring phones or recording devices, reports said.

Authorities have yet to appoint a stenographer, meaning MPs are expected to keep handwritten notes to be submitted later to Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş.

Support for the motion fractured along party lines. All 21 AKP members present backed the visit, along with five DEM Party members and four MHP lawmakers. The Workers' Party of Türkiye (TİP) and the Labor Party (EMEP) each added one vote in favor.

The main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), along with the New Welfare Party's (YRP) sole member, did not participate in the vote. All 11 CHP members walked out after the decision to hold the session behind closed doors.

"We advocate for a process conducted transparently and with social consensus," deputy parliament leader of the CHP, Murat Emir, later told reporters, adding that the party would continue participating in the commission.

The Democrat Party (DP), Democratic Left Party (DSP) and Free Cause Party (HÜDA PAR) voted against.

The three-seat Yeni Yol (New Path) group abstained after their proposal to hold the meeting via video link was rejected. The umbrella bloc representing the Felicity Party (SP), Democracy and Progress Party (DEVA) and Future Party said it would not send a member to İmralı.

Following the vote, the DEM Party said it “regretted the distant approach of some political circles to this historic step.” The party has long maintained channels to Öcalan under the campaign and proposed the visit — a move that quickly won support from the MHP.

Senior DEM Party MPs Pervin Buldan and Mithat Sancar previously met with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Oct. 30, a meeting Erdoğan described as "promising and constructive."

The commission is reportedly preparing to propose legal reforms aimed at reintegrating former PKK members, including changes to anti-terror and sentencing laws. Since its establishment, it has collected input from a wide range of groups, including government ministers, unions, business leaders, academics, legal experts, civil society representatives and families of fallen soldiers.

Parties have been asked to present written views by Nov. 28 to inform the commission’s report on the İmralı mission. Kurtulmuş has said the findings will be presented to the full assembly later this month.

The commission was formed after Öcalan’s call earlier this year prompted PKK to disarm. A first group of members burned its weapons in July, and the terror group said it was withdrawing from Turkish territory in late October.

The İYİ (Good) Party remains the only major political party boycotting the initiative outright and declined to send members to the panel.