Kurdish Deputy Delegation Heads to Imrali Island
Peace and Democracy Party Co-Chairperson Selahattin Demirtaş and Iğdır Province deputy Pervin Buldan headed to Imrali Prison this morning to meet PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan.
According to information on various newspapers, the delegation is expected to hear Öcalan’s new roadmap related to the second step of the ongoing peace process.
The visits marks as the sixth meeting with Öcalan.
No announcement has been made whether or not the delegation will have a press statement following the visit.
On May 25 Demirtaş announced that they have applied to Justice Ministry to meet Öcalan on Imrali Island.
Önder: I don’t believe there is a crisis
PDP deputy Sırrı Süreyya Önder, one of the deputies from the last visit on April 14, addressed press inquiries on why he wasn’t involved in the delegation this time:
“We are going through a process where the meetings must be held on a more regular and extended basis. I don’t believe there is a crisis. I don’t even think such thing is possible. I don’t know whether I am still part of the delegation. I don’t know how my party would react to the possibility that my name is removed from the delegation list. For us, names are not important. I am expecting a response from Justice Ministry in a couple of days,” said Önder in a press conference in the parliament.
If the government makes such a decision [to remove my name from the delegation list], it proves that they have no idea what is going on, he said.
“If a democratic institution blocks another democratic process, it probably means that it couldn’t read what is really happening in life.” (AS/BM)