After 26 years in a Turkish prison, Abdullah Ocalan is once again at the center of Turkey’s efforts to end the Kurdistan Workers Party’s (PKK) four-decade insurgency, according to reporting from Reuters. In a development that would have seemed unthinkable just a year ago, three Turkish lawmakers visited Ocalan on Monday at Imrali prison to advance the peace process launched after the PKK announced in May that it would disarm and dissolve. The group symbolically burned weapons in July and began withdrawing fighters from Turkey last month, bringing PKK attacks to a halt since the process started.
Despite these steps, completing the peace process remains fraught after years of conflict, political division, and distrust. Ocalan’s enduring authority over the PKK makes his role indispensable, and Monday’s meeting underscored how deeply intertwined he remains in decision-making. The parliament speaker’s office said the lawmakers collected statements from Ocalan not only on the disbandment process but also on Syrian Kurdish forces, which Ankara considers PKK affiliates. For President Tayyip Erdogan, achieving lasting peace would mark a historic breakthrough after decades of bloodshed that devastated Turkey’s southeast and hardened political identities across the country.
Erdogan, who has kept a low public profile throughout the negotiations, welcomed the lawmakers’ visit, saying it accelerates progress toward eliminating terrorism. Critics suggest he may also be eyeing Kurdish support should he pursue early elections or seek constitutional changes to extend his rule beyond 2028. Yet the process requires delicate coordination among Ocalan, Ankara, the PKK’s Qandil-based leadership in northern Iraq, and Kurdish forces aligned with Ocalan in northern Syria — groups with different priorities and varying levels of distrust.
A transcript of a May video call between Ocalan and senior PKK members, obtained by Reuters from a source close to the talks, illuminates the sensitive dynamics. In the call, Ocalan asserts that the decision to urge the PKK to dissolve was entirely his own, countering claims that he was acting on behalf of the state. PKK figures expressed skepticism about Ankara’s willingness to deliver long-promised reforms but reaffirmed their trust in Ocalan’s leadership. He responded coolly, saying he felt neither sadness nor emotion about dissolving the organization he founded, noting that the call included participation from a Turkish official — a sign of continued state oversight.
Ocalan’s capacity to drive the process forward has become increasingly visible. His lawyers recently received permission to visit him for the first time since 2019, and one of them, Ibrahim Bilmez, told Reuters that his conditions had improved, with greater opportunities for interaction, reading, and limited television. Bilmez said Ocalan’s resolve to seek a democratic resolution to the Kurdish issue remains undiminished. Even Devlet Bahceli, the ultranationalist MHP leader and longtime critic of Ocalan, has acknowledged his importance, saying he would be willing to meet Ocalan in person if it would help achieve a “terror-free Turkey.”
But doubts persist. The pro-Kurdish DEM Party, parliament’s third largest and a recurring participant in meetings with Ocalan, remains wary of Erdogan’s commitment to broader reforms addressing Kurdish political and cultural rights. Reuters sources say Ankara is working on legislation to allow thousands of PKK fighters and civilians to return from northern Iraq — a step Ocalan highlighted in the May call as essential to the peace process. Yet many Kurds remain skeptical, citing years of crackdowns that saw thousands arrested and elected Kurdish officials jailed or removed from office. The crackdown has paused during the peace talks, and Bahceli has even suggested that freeing former DEM leader Selahattin Demirtas could support reconciliation.
As negotiations unfold, the balance between political ambition, public distrust, and armed actors operating across multiple borderlands leaves the peace process fragile. Yet Ocalan’s reemergence — from a cell on Imrali Island — appears once again to be shaping the course of Turkey’s most prolonged and painful conflict.
