A co-chair of the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), which served as messenger for jailed ringleader of the PKK terrorist group, Abdullah Öcalan, hailed the group’s decision to dissolve itself.
Tuncer Bakırhan was quoted by Turkish media on Monday, saying that he hoped the process would be “crowned with peace.”
Pervin Buldan, a DEM Party lawmaker who was part of the delegation relaying Öcalan's messages, told broadcaster Habertürk that it was good news and they now "have a hopeful climate after years of inconclusive efforts." "I wish Sırrı Süreyya Önder witnessed it," Buldan said, referring to a fellow member of the delegation who died on May 3, days after he suffered a cardiac arrest.
The DEM Party is a spiritual successor to the now-defunct Peoples' Democracy Party (HDP), whose co-chairs were imprisoned for PKK propaganda as well as inciting deadly 2014 pro-PKK riots across Türkiye. The party became a part of the terror-free Türkiye initiative after its leaders were approached by Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli, who launched the initiative as an alternative way to end PKK terrorism last year. The party later held an extraordinary meeting of its administrative committee.
Party spokesperson Ayşegül Doğan told reporters after the party meeting that the dissolution would bring out good things. "We should not waste this great opportunity. We have to adhere to it. This is not something to be delayed, it is a sacred responsibility," Doğan said. She said the DEM Party urged all segments of society to contribute to the initiative through their suggestions and constructive contributions.
