DEM Party - Erdoğan meeting: There is no 13-item demand list, disarmament and isolation are on our agenda.

A senior official from the DEM Party, speaking to Euronews Türkçe, stated that they do not have such a demand list, saying, "The other items claimed are actually demands that our party constantly shares with the public, but we do not have such a listing."

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan met with the Imralı delegation consisting of DEM Party Members of Parliament Sırrı Süreyya Önder and Pervin Buldan on Thursday, April 10. The Erdoğan-DEM Party meeting marks the first face-to-face contact in 13 years. Following the approximately 1 hour and 25-minute meeting held at the Presidential Complex in Ankara, Başak Kaya from Sözcü newspaper reported on Saturday that DEM Party had presented Erdoğan with a 13-item demand list. A senior official from the DEM Party, speaking to Euronews Türkçe, reiterated that they do not have such a list, stating, "Actually, the agenda includes the lifting of Öcalan's isolation and ensuring freedom of communication for the realization of the PKK's disarmament process, but apart from that, we do not have such a listing." Speaking about the other claimed items, the party official said, "The others are obligatory topics that need to be discussed and resolved when the time comes. But the demand for a law for the lifting of isolation and the disarmament process is the starting point for solving the issue and ensuring the progress of the resolution. These other claimed items are also demands that our party constantly shares with the public, but we do not have such a listing." The senior party official commented that for the isolation and disarmament processes, "[the] lifting of Öcalan's isolation and ensuring freedom of communication, along with preparing a law for the PKK's disarmament process, will largely mean making progress in solving the issue." A second DEM Party source confirmed that there was no request for a 13-item list, stating that during the Central Executive Board (MYK) meeting held after the Erdoğan meeting, the demand list was not addressed item by item, but "almost all of it was discussed." A third party source also confirmed that there was no listing, saying, "Our party has been expressing these demands in all open activities towards the public for years. But this list, which is tied to a schedule and lined up, is not our list."

Erdoğan told the DEM Party delegation: "Everything will be resolved; there is nothing we cannot talk about." It was expected that the Imralı delegation, consisting of DEM Party MPs Sırrı Süreyya Önder and Pervin Buldan, would establish a road map in their meeting with Erdoğan. A second DEM Party source knowledgeable about the details of the meeting stated, "A comprehensive presentation was made, but Erdoğan did not say anything like 'We will take these steps by adhering to these dates.' On the contrary, he spoke vaguely in the sense of 'Everything will be resolved; there is nothing we cannot talk about.'" The DEM Party's Imralı delegation stated after their meeting at the Presidential Complex: "The meeting we held with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his delegation took place in a very positive, constructive, productive, and hopeful atmosphere for the future. The importance of the point reached in the process was confirmed, and the next stages were mutually evaluated. It was expressed that a period without violence and conflict, where the democratic and political sphere would strengthen, is vital for our country, our citizens, and our region." A second DEM Party source, speaking to Euronews Türkçe about the statement made by the delegation regarding the meeting, said, "We find the delegation's expressions like 'very, very positive meeting' to be quite inappropriate and even excessive."

Erdoğan: "I will give an appointment." One of the prominent members of the delegation, Sırrı Süreyya Önder, mentioned during his participation in a Habertürk broadcast following the call for disarmament on February 27 that there could be a meeting with President Erdoğan soon. Following this, President Erdoğan stated after the AK Party Group Meeting on March 12, in response to the question, "Will you give an appointment to the Imralı delegation?" that "I will give an appointment if requested from me." The "Terror-free Turkey" process is also referred to in the public and media as the "Imralı process" and the "second resolution process."

The DEM Party’s meeting traffic involved a delegation led by DEM Party Co-Chairs Tülay Hatimoğulları and Tuncer Bakırhan, which began their second political party visit tour on Monday, March 10. The delegation first met with the Labor Party (EMEP) in the Parliament, and then held a meeting with Republican People's Party (CHP) Chairman Özgür Özel at the CHP Headquarters. Finally, on the same day, the delegation met with the leader of the DEVA Party, Ali Babacan, at the DEVA Party Headquarters. The DEM Party delegation had also met with the Turkey Workers' Party (TİP), the Felicity Party, and the Future Party on March 12. Most recently, the delegation held meetings with the AK Party and MHP delegations on March 17.

PKK declared a ceasefire. Following Abdullah Öcalan's call for disarmament and dissolution, the PKK announced that it declared a ceasefire starting from Saturday, March 1. In a statement made by the PKK Executive Committee, it was said, "As PKK, we fully agree with the content of the call and state that we will comply with and implement the requirements of the call from our side. We declare a ceasefire effective from today." In a written statement titled "To Our Patriotic People and Democratic Public," the organization said that "our forces will not carry out armed actions unless there is an attack." Stating that they are "ready" to convene the congress, they emphasized that "the proper secure environment must be created, and Öcalan must personally direct and implement the success of the congress." To ensure the successful realization of Öcalan's call, the organization stated that the leader should "achieve conditions where he can live and work freely and establish unhindered relationships with anyone he wants, including his friends. We hope that the relevant state institutions will fulfill these requirements."

Sırrı Süreyya Önder, one of the DEM Party MPs reading the statement, conveyed Öcalan's note as follows: "Certainly, the disarmament of weapons and the dissolution of the PKK require the recognition of democratic politics and the legal dimension."

The resolution process in Turkey refers to the negotiations that began between the PKK and the Turkish state between 2013 and 2015. This process was initiated with the aim of peacefully resolving the Kurdish issue. Key elements of the process included disarmament, democratic reforms, and the expansion of rights relating to Kurdish identity. PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan played a key role in these negotiations. However, the resolution process effectively ended with the resumption of clashes in 2015, leading to significant changes in the political dynamics in Turkey.

Founded on November 28, 1978, in the Lice district of Diyarbakır, the PKK is recognized as a terrorist organization by the European Union, the United States (US), the UK, France, Turkey, and many other states. PKK militants have killed nearly 15,000 people in attacks that have continued for nearly 40 years, according to official figures. Since being sentenced to life imprisonment in 1999 for founding and running a terrorist organization, PKK leader Öcalan has been held in İmralı Prison in the Sea of Marmara.