ANKARA (Reuters) -President Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday that Turkey had entered a “new phase” in efforts to end Kurdish militant violence and signalled he was open to the idea of jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan addressing lawmakers.
Erdogan said he held “very constructive” talks last week with senior pro-Kurdish DEM Party leaders – who have urged the idea of Ocalan addressing a parliamentary commission on PKK disarmament – and he urged all actors to contribute.
“It appears we have reached a new crossroads on the path toward a Turkey free of terrorism,” Erdogan told his ruling AK Party lawmakers. “Everyone needs to step up and do their part.”
“We consider it extremely valuable that … all relevant parties are heard without leaving anyone out, and that different opinions — even if contrary — are expressed,” he said.
The comments could hint at possible engagement with Ocalan, who has been jailed since 1999 but has played a key role urging his militant Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) to disarm and dissolve, steps it announced earlier this year.
DEM has said the commission, on which it sits with other parties, should be allowed to engage Ocalan in prison given he remains central to Kurdish public opinion and was involved in previous peace efforts.
Erdogan’s government has not confirmed any such step.
The PKK launched its insurgency in 1984. A previous peace initiative collapsed in 2015, unleashing renewed bloodshed in Turkey’s southeast. The government has not publicly detailed the framework of the current effort.
Erdogan’s comments came a day after his nationalist ally Devlet Bahceli said it “would be beneficial” to release Selahattin Demirtas, the former pro-Kurdish party leader jailed since 2016.
Bahceli, long hostile to Kurdish political demands, effectively launched the peace process with the PKK when he floated the idea a year ago.
“With a bit more courage and effort, and with God’s permission, we will successfully conclude this process,” Erdogan said.
(Reporting by Ece Toksabay; Editing by Jonathan Spicer)
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