BDP names deputies for second İmralı visit

ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News

Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) co-chair Selahattin Demirtaş. AA photo

The second official visit to İmralı island, where outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Öcalan is serving a life sentence, might take place in a couple of days, Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) co-chair Selahattin Demirtaş said today.

In addition to Demirtaş himself, the names of Ahmet Türk, an independent lawmaker and head of Kurdish umbrella organization the Democratic Society Congress (DTK), and BDP Iğdır deputy Pervin Buldan have reportedly been unofficially conveyed to the Justice Ministry, he said.

“The reason for the one-and-a-half-month crisis was not the names of the visitors. It was the fact that the negotiations were blocked, that’s why our committee was not allowed to go. The Turkish state’s committee had to go a few more times to open the way for talks. There is no name crisis,” Demirtaş told reporters at Parliament.

The official application will be made today or tomorrow, he said, adding that the visit could be conducted in a couple of days.

The ongoing “peace process,” or “İmralı Process,” refers to talks recently launched by officials involving  Öcalan, to convince PKK militants to lay down their arms and withdraw from Turkish soil. As part of the process, BDP deputy Ayla Akat and Ahmet Türk, an independent lawmaker and head of Kurdish umbrella organization the DTK, were allowed to visit Öcalan on Jan. 3.

However, the second visit has still yet to take place, leading to conjecture between the BDP and the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) government.