Bahçeli proposes formal status for Öcalan to guide PKK dissolution

Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli reiterated his proposal for imprisoned Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Öcalan to assume a formal role as a coordinator as part of of the ongoing Kurdish peace process.

In statements published yesterday in the Türkgün newspaper, Bahçeli said the process has entered a new phase and requires a new roadmap. He suggested including Öcalan in the process under a new status, while maintaining his imprisonment.

Bahçeli argued that a multiplicity of voices within the leadership mechanism during the liquidation of militant groups could pave the way for splinter organizations. To prevent this, the interlocutor must be clearly identified, he said.

“Equipping Öcalan with a social status, while keeping his conviction status reserved, will make it possible to conduct the organizational activities or disarmament of the dissolved PKK and its components in a healthier manner,” Bahçeli was quoted as saying. “The ‘Peace Process and Politicization Coordinatorship’ could be an appropriate description of status in this direction.”

The coordinator mechanism would be limited exclusively to the disarmament and organizational liquidation of the PKK, he added. 

“The coordinatorship is envisioned for the purpose of coordinating the absolute disarmament and liquidation of all extensions, organization managers, and militants of the PKK terrorist organization, preventing the ongoing peace process from being disrupted in its organizational aspect, and making legitimate guidelines appropriate for choosing politics instead of weapons.”

Bahçeli, who made a similar proposal earlier this month, stated that the political, legal, and social conditions to make this process possible exist in Turkey.

Peace process

The peace process in Turkey began in Oct 2024 after Bahçeli, a key ally of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, suggested that Abdullah Öcalan could be released by benefiting from the “right to hope” in exchange for dissolving the PKK.

The PKK decided to dissolve itself in May of last year, and the group now uses the signature “Apocu movement management” in its statements. The organization also held a symbolic disarmament ceremony last July.

Additionally, a parliamentary committee was established and completed its work at the end of last year to determine the framework for legal regulations within the scope of the peace process.

However, no other concrete progress has occurred in the process. The Kurdish side states that legal regulations must be implemented and Öcalan must benefit from the right to hope for the process to advance.

Meanwhile, observers suggest that the parties prefer to wait due to regional developments, including the integration process in Syria and the war led by the US and Israel against Iran. (VK)