DEM Party to meet with the Minister of Justice about legal steps
The DEM Party has announced talks with the Ministry of Justice about the legal basis for a possible peace process between Abdullah Öcalan and the Turkish state.
After the first high-level meeting between representatives of the DEM Party and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Thursday, the Imrali delegation is now preparing further political steps. MP Pervin Buldan announced a meeting will be held with the Ministry of Justice next week to discuss the legal basis for a possible peace process with Abdullah Öcalan.
On April 10, a historic meeting took place in the presidential complex in Beştepe. Erdoğan received the DEM Party MPs Pervin Buldan and Sırrı Süreyya Önder. Intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalın and AKP deputy leader Efkan Ala also took part in the meeting. It was the first time in years that the HDP successor had spoken with Erdoğan and met with the president since Öcalan's ‘Call for Peace and Democratic Society’ on February 27.
“A legal framework is needed to enable progress”
In a broadcast on Medya Haber TV, Pervin Buldan stated that the meeting was an “important step” that now needs to be underpinned by legislation. “Concrete legal regulations are needed to ensure that the process towards peace and a democratic society can continue to develop. Parliament must take responsibility for this,” said Buldan. In this context, a meeting with the Minister of Justice is planned for next week. The aim is to clarify which legal adjustments are necessary, which legal hurdles need to be removed and which initiatives could be launched in parliament.
“Right to hope must be secured”
Pervin Buldan particularly emphasized the importance of the “right to hope” – a term often used in legal and political circles in the context of Abdullah Öcalan's solitary confinement. “The right to hope must also be secured by law. Without legal reforms, it would be very difficult for this process to move forward.”
Further talks with other parties and social actors are to take place in parallel. Buldan also announced that the delegation intends to convey the contents of the meeting in Beştepe in a visit to Imrali prison island – a reference to possible movement in dealing with Öcalan's long-standing isolation.
