By Ece Toksabay and Huseyin Hayatsever
ANKARA, May 5 (Reuters) – Turkish nationalist party leader Devlet Bahceli said on Tuesday the jailed head of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) should be given an official role to help advance a peace process aimed at ending a decades-long conflict.
Bahceli, a close ally of President Tayyip Erdogan who in 2024 effectively initiated the process with a call for peace, made the proposal a week after pro-Kurdish lawmakers accused the government of moving too slowly.
“If there is a lack of status for Abdullah Ocalan, this should be addressed in a way that clearly benefits the Republic of Turkey and serves the goal of a terror-free Turkey,” Bahceli said in a parliamentary speech.
“To end these discussions, I propose that it be called the ‘Peace Process and Politicisation Coordination Office’,” Bahceli said, adding that the “founding leader of the PKK should serve under a defined role.”
Gulistan Kilic Kocyigit, a senior lawmaker from the pro-Kurdish DEM Party, welcomed Bahceli’s proposals in comments to Reuters.
“Both his assessment of the process and his renewed emphasis on the need for legislation, highlighting that this law will advance the process, are very valuable. Similarly, his reiteration of Mr. Ocalan’s role in the process and his approach to linking this role with a specific status are also very valuable,” she said.
“I think today’s speech is one that can breathe new life into the process, ease it, and pave the way for its progress.”
The PKK, designated a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the United States and the European Union, halted attacks last year and said in May it had decided to disband and end its armed struggle, following a February 2025 call by Ocalan, who has been imprisoned in Turkey since 1999.
However, a stand-off remains over next steps, with Ankara saying disarmament must be verified before further legal or political measures, while Kurdish political actors have called for faster reforms.
“The next (steps) should be political and legal regulations,” Bahceli said, adding that proposals from all of parliament’s parties should be discussed.
The conflict, which began in 1984, has killed more than 40,000 people and has had spillover effects in Iraq and Syria.
(Additional reporting by Jonathan Spicer in Ankara; Editing by Daren Butler, William Maclean)
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