Buldan visits Öcalan again after PKK's dissolution call

ISTANBUL

Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) lawmaker Pervin Buldan paid another visit to jailed PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan following the terror group’s declaration to dissolve itself.

Buldan was accompanied by lawyer Faik Özgür Erol in the meeting held on the İmralı prison island off Istanbul. The visit marks the fifth time a DEM Party delegation has met with Öcalan as part of a new peace initiative with PKK.

The first of the series of meetings took place on Dec. 28, 2024, with Buldan and fellow DEM Party MP Sırrı Süreyya Önder. The two visited Öcalan again on Jan. 22.

A third meeting on Feb. 27 included a broader delegation, with DEM Party co-chairs Tuncer Bakırhan and Tülay Hatimoğulları, lawmaker Cengiz Çiçek and former Mardin Mayor Ahmet Türk joining Buldan, Önder and Erol.

During that visit, Öcalan urged PKK to lay down its arms and disband, a message that was shared publicly during a press conference by the delegation. In a statement on May 12, PKK said it has decided to dissolve itself.

Buldan and Erol were in attendance at the most recent visit on April 21 as Önder, regarded as a central figure in the renewed İmralı talks, died on May 3 after spending 18 days in intensive care due to cardiac arrest and subsequent multiple organ failure.

PKK is listed a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the United States and the European Union.