Turkiye government coalition partner Bahceli calls for talks with imprisoned PKK leader Ocalan

A key coalition partner in Turkiye’s government has proposed for a prominent pro-Kurdish party to hold direct talks with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party’s (PKK) imprisoned leader, Abdullah Ocalan, in ongoing attempts to reach a ceasefire deal with the militant group. In a parliamentary meeting in the Turkish capital, Ankara, today, leader of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), Devlet Bahceli, told his party’s lawmakers that “We expect face-to-face contact between Imrali and the DEM group to be made without delay, and we resolutely reiterate our call.” By Imrali, the nationalist leader meant Ocalan himself, referring to the island of Imrali – to the south of Istanbul – where the imprisoned PKK leader has been held for the past 25 years […]