ANKARA — In a U-turn, Devlet Bahceli, top ally of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and leader of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), proposed on Tuesday that the conditions of a Kurdish militant leader’s life sentence without parole be reconsidered if Abdullah Ocalan accepts to declare the dissolution of his outlawed armed group.
The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) has been waging an armed campaign for Kurdish self-rule inside Turkey since 1984 and is considered a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union. PKK leader Ocalan has been serving a life sentence at Imrali prison island off the coast of Istanbul since 1999.
“Let him [Ocalan] declare that terrorism has completely ended and that the organization has been dissolved,” Bahceli said. “If he shows this resolve and determination, then the path can be fully opened for making a legal regulation on the use of the right to hope and for him to benefit from it.”
Bahceli referred to a 2014 European Court of Human Rights ruling, which stated that life sentences without parole should not be a form of torture and that prisoners should have a “right to hope.”
In a televised address to his party members at the parliament, Bahceli even suggested that if Ocalan agrees to make such a speech, he could deliver it in parliament. Ocalan has been largely isolated, with limited contact with his lawyers and family. Turkey’s pro-Kurdish DEM party has long been demanding the lifting of the isolation on Ocalan.
“If the isolation of the terrorist leader is lifted, let him come and speak at the DEM party group meeting at the Grand National Assembly of Turkey,” Bahceli said.
These comments come as reports suggest the Turkish government is considering using diplomacy in addition to military measures to solve the 40-year-old armed conflict. Al-Monitor was first to report earlier this month that exploratory talks for a possible resumption of peace negotiations between the government and Ocalan were underway.
Bahceli, however, did not mention negotiations, but endorsed democratic reforms as part of a broader solution.
“The most reasonable option is to implement democratic reforms and social and economic arrangements while the fight against terrorism continues relentlessly on one hand,” he continued.
Following his speech, MHP Vice-Chair Feti Yildiz described Bahceli’s proposal as a turning point.
“Oct. 22 is a milestone in Turkish politics,” he wrote on the X platform. “From this day forward, all political assessments will be made in terms of before Oct. 22 and after Oct. 22.”
“From this day forward, we promise to do our part for a dignified peace,” DEM party Co-Chair Tulay Hatimogullari said in an initial response to Bahceli’s call.
The statement comes as part of a detente between Turkish and Kurdish nationalists in the period that kicked off after Bahceli shook hands with DEM party lawmakers during the opening session of the Turkish parliament on Oct. 1.
Ocalan, who founded PKK nearly half a century ago, has been in solitary confinement since 1999, is hailed as an icon by some Kurds but denounced by many Turks as a terrorist.
Speaking later on Tuesday, Erdogan described his ruling alliance’s stance as a historic opportunity. “We expect everyone to realize that there is no place for terrorism and its dark shadow in Turkey’s future,” Erdogan said during a live speech in Ankara. “We do not wish for the historic opportunity opened by the People’s Alliance to be sacrificed for personal interests.”
This is a developing story and will be updated.