DEM Party lawmakers meet Öcalan after parliament passes PKK disarmament law

A delegation from the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party, including MPs Pervin Buldan and Mithat Sancar and lawyer Faik Özgür Erol, traveled to İmralı island on Sept. 13 to meet imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan, marking the first such encounter since the Turkish parliament enacted a landmark anti-terror law. The 12-article framework, approved on Aug. 10 with 468 votes in favor and 88 against, seeks to facilitate the PKK’s disarmament and dissolution and was supported by every party except the İYİ Party.

The law sets out judicial and administrative procedures that can be triggered only after security services verify that the PKK/KCK and related groups no longer maintain an operational presence and have surrendered all arms, a determination that must be approved by the National Security Council and published in the Official Gazette. Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş indicated that the PKK would begin handing over weapons to Iraq’s central government in October as part of the “terror-free Türkiye” process.

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zeidi echoed this, saying PKK-linked elements in the Sinjar region would also surrender arms, bringing Mount Sinjar under full federal control. The meeting underscores Turkey’s push to legally end the PKK’s armed campaign and its broader regional security implications.