Turkey’s parliament said Monday that a group of lawmakers met with Abdullah Öcalan, the imprisoned leader of Kurdish militants, on İmralı Island, in the first officially sanctioned cross-party visit to the founder of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), Turkish Minute reported.
The lawmakers travelled to the island at midday and returned to Ankara later in the afternoon.
The visit took place under the mandate of the National Solidarity, Brotherhood and Democracy Commission, a 51-member parliamentary body created in August to manage the political transition after the PKK declared a ceasefire and announced it would dissolve itself.
The commission voted on November 21 to send a small delegation to İmralı to hear Öcalan’s views on the end of the armed conflict and on the legal steps that may follow.
The delegation comprised ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) lawmaker Hüseyin Yayman, Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) Deputy Chairman Feti Yıldız and Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) group deputy chair Gülistan Kılıç Koçyiğit.
The main opposition Republican People’s Party refused to take part in the vote and did not send anyone to the delegation, saying the process lacked transparency.
Parliament said the entire meeting was recorded and that the written minutes will be delivered to Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş, who chairs the commission, before they are shared with all members.
The statement said the meeting produced positive results for the commission’s work but did not give any details about Öcalan’s remarks or about possible legislation.
Government aligned outlets said the visit was coordinated by Turkey’s intelligence service and that no photographs or video from the island would be released.
The confirmation followed hours of conflicting reports in the Turkish press, with Kurdish outlets saying the meeting had already taken place and some mainstream reporters saying it was still pending.
The parliamentary announcement ended the uncertainty and confirmed that the lawmakers had completed the visit on Monday.
The commission is now expected to debate the minutes and move toward draft laws on the reintegration of PKK members and political rights related to the end of the conflict.
