PKK leader Ocalan gains legitimacy in Turkey, bigger sway over Syria’s Kurds
The ongoing deadlock between Damascus and the SDF is seen as a major obstacle to progress in Turkey’s efforts to address its long-standing Kurdish issue.
QAMISHLI, Syria — Abdullah Ocalan, imprisoned leader of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), has emerged as a central figure in Turkish politics, with the potential to influence both Turkey’s and Syria’s futures in one of the most extraordinary reversals in the country’s modern history.
On Monday, a mixed delegation of lawmakers from Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and the pro-Kurdish DEM Party met the man long labeled a terrorist and baby killer by Ankara for the first time at the island prison where has been held since 1999, conferring him with the political legitimacy he has long sought and paving the way for what could result in a historic consensus on resolving the Kurdish issue.
The Turkish Grand National Assembly said in a statement that the meeting had focused on the PKK’s decision earlier this year to obey Ocalan’s orders to disarm and disband.
"As a result of the meeting, positive results were obtained in terms of social integration [and] strengthening of fraternity," the statement said.
