Melek Avcı

 

ANKARA - The meeting between the DEM Party's İmralı delegation and President Tayyip Erdoğan was a critical step in accelerating the process and taking concrete steps.

 

After an interval of 13 years, the Imrali delegation of the Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) met with AKP's President Tayyip Erdoğan at the Presidential Complex in Beştepe. In addition to Erdoğan, Head of National Intelligence Organisation (MİT) İbrahim Kalın and AKP Deputy Chairman Efkan Ala also attended the meeting. The historic meeting with Pervin Buldan and Sırrı Süreyya Önder from the İmralı delegation lasted approximately 1 hour and 25 minutes. The meeting raised hopes for new steps to be taken in the process of building peace and a democratic society, and important developments are on the agenda for the end of April.

 

Mutual trust underlined

 

While the İmralı delegation considered the meeting as a critical moment for the process to regain momentum and move forward, the written statement released after the meeting stated that the meeting took place in a positive atmosphere. The delegation also emphasised that there was mutual confidence that a democratic period without violence and conflict would begin in the future.

 

End of April was pointed out

 

Making a statement before the meeting yesterday, AKP Group Deputy Chairman Efkan Ala, who was also present at the meeting, pointed out that the process would accelerate at the end of April and said, *We hope to see an important step at the end of April." This statement reveals that the process will now be on a concrete ground after the call made by Kurdish People's Leader Abdullah Öcalan on 27 February and that there may be movement in the Parliament.

 

What will be on the agenda?

 

According to the allegations in the lobbies, important issues such as concrete regulations on the execution law, unlawful acts against elected mayors and will usurpations, and the release of sick prisoners will be among the issues to be discussed in the Parliament towards the end of April.

 

While the ongoing isolation and the lack of working conditions for Kurdish People's Leader Abdullah Öcalan to manage the dialogue process are still important, it is thought that these arrangements will be an important step towards further clarifying the process and building public confidence in peace.

 

Is the end of April the date when the process will take shape?

 

Today's meeting was recorded as an important point in the process. With the regulations that may come to the agenda in the Parliament at the end of April, it will become clear how the process will proceed.