According to Kurdpress, the People's Equality and Democracy Party (Dem Party) after a three and a half hour meeting with Abdullah Öcalan, the leader of the PKK, announced in a written statement that Öcalan considered the "democratic integration of the Kurds in the Republic of Turkey" as the most fundamental pillar of Turkey's future and emphasized that the era of violence is over and now is the time to build a "new century and even a new millennium."

On February 16, 2026, the delegation of Equality and People's Democracy Party consisting of Parvin Boldan, Medhat Sanjar and Faiq Özgur Erol met with Abdullah Ocalan in Amrali Island. This meeting lasted for about thirty and a half hours and the Emirali Board published its details in a written statement last night.

In this statement, it is stated that Ocalan, referring to his political life path, emphasized that the process taken in recent years has shown that the transition from the politics of violence and confrontation to democratic politics and integration is possible and practical. He emphasized that the continuation of the path should be based on negotiation, political rationality and social realities.

In this meeting, Öcalan also spoke about the report of the Majlis Commission and emphasized that this report should be in line with social realities. According to him, the approach that defines the problem only with the logic of "eliminating terrorism" is not only not a solution, but also a continuation of the deadlock.

He described the current process as "the process of peace and democratic society" and considered this meeting as "the beginning of entering the era of democratic integration". In this context, the memory and name of Sri Soraya Onder, the deceased member of the Board of Trustees, has also been honored.

In another part of this statement, Ocalan, referring to the process of establishing the Republic of Turkey, said that the union of Turks and Kurds was one of the pillars of the formation of the Republic, and this fact can also be seen in historical documents. He emphasized that the republic was not built "without Kurds" and the policies of denying and eliminating the language and identity rights of Kurds in the following decades have become the basis for crises and riots. According to him, now the goal is to end the cycle of "denial and rebellion" and discuss the way of peaceful coexistence within the framework of the republic.

Ocalan has announced that citizenship should be defined regardless of ethnicity, language, religion, and ideology by re-introducing the concept of "free citizen". According to him, a citizen should be able to freely express his religion, national identity and thoughts, without imposing it on others. He emphasized that this freedom should be realized within the framework of the country's territorial unity and democratic principles.

Ocalan also emphasized the necessity of forming and institutionalizing local democracy and said that cities and villages should have the right to govern and express themselves freely. He clarified that the purpose of this proposal is not to form a separate government or break up, but to strengthen democratic management within the framework of the country.

He also mentioned Syrian Kurdistan in another part of his message and said that his proposal for the Syrian Kurds was "democratic integration" and that local democracy does not mean the formation of an independent government. Regarding the internal unity among the Kurds, Öcalan proposed "democratic unity" among the Kurds in different sectors.

In the final part of the statement, it is stated that Ocalan emphasized that violence and weapons have been put aside and that a "strong democratic policy" should be taken from now on. He considered the Kurdish issue to have security dimensions, but emphasized that its political dimension is wider and everything should not be defined in the framework of security.

In summing up his speech, he said: "The integration of the Kurds in the Republic of Türkiye will be one of the basic foundations of the Republic. We will restore a brotherhood that has been lost for two hundred years and fulfill the requirements of brotherhood rights. This means building a new century and even a new millennium."