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- Ocalan is unlikely to be freed, as his life would likely come under threat, but the conditions of his imprisonment are likely to be 鈥渆ased,鈥� officials say
ISTANBUL: A 鈥渕ajor鈥� shift is needed to repair broken ties between the Turkish state and the country鈥檚 Kurdish minority following the historic decision of the Kurdistan Workers Party to disarm, its jailed founder said Sunday.
The message from Abdullah Ocalan was transmitted through a delegation of the pro-Kurdish DEM party who visited the Imrali prison island near Istanbul where Ocalan has been serving life in solitary confinement since 1999.
It was their first visit since the May 12 disarmament announcement, which sought to draw a line under conflict that began in 1984 when the Kurdistan Workers鈥� Party (PKK) took up arms. More than 40,000 people have died since.
鈥淲hat we are doing involves a major paradigm shift,鈥� wrote the 76-year-old former guerrilla.
鈥淭he Turkish-Kurdish relationship is like a brotherly relationship that is broken. Brothers and sisters fight, but they can鈥檛 exist without each other,鈥� he said, calling for 鈥渁 new agreement based on the concept of brotherhood.鈥�
鈥淲e must clear away, one-by-one, all the traps and minefields that spoil this relationship, we must repair the broken roads and bridges.鈥�
Only DEM lawmaker Pervin Buldan visited Ocalan this time, with lawyer Ozgur Erol, following the recent death of veteran Turkish peacemaker Sirri Sureyya Onder.
Onder, who was Turkiye鈥檚 deputy parliamentary speaker, died on May 3, after suffering a cardiac arrest and just days before the PKK鈥檚 historic decision.
He had spent years trying to end the conflict with Turkiye鈥檚 Kurdish minority in efforts that earned respect from across the political spectrum.
Since December, he had been part of a delegation that visited Ocalan several times, shuttling messages between him and Turkiye鈥檚 political establishment and paving the way for the PKK move.
鈥淚 had a hankering to speak to Sirri Sureyya Onder one last time,鈥� Ocalan wrote, describing him as 鈥渁 wise person for Turkiye鈥� and saying he left behind 鈥渁 cherished memory that we need to keep alive.鈥�
The government has said it will carefully monitor the disarmament process and in turn, observers expect the government to show a new openness to the Kurds who make up about 20 percent of the 85 million population.
Ocalan is unlikely to be freed, as his life would likely come under threat, but the conditions of his imprisonment are likely to be 鈥渆ased,鈥� officials say.