According to Kurdpress, thousands of people came to the streets on Saturday, May 16, 2026 in several cities of Turkey and Kurdish regions of the country in response to the call of the People's Equality and Democracy Party (Dem Party) with the slogan "A step for peace" and demanded the start of practical measures for the peace process, the release of political prisoners and the determination of Abdullah Ocalan's status.

According to the Mesopotamia News Agency, these marches were held simultaneously in cities such as Ankara, Istanbul, Diyarbakir and Van, and the participants chanted slogans in support of peace, democracy and Kurdish rights, and demanded that legal and political steps be taken in the so-called "peace and democratic society" process; According to the organizers, the process started after Abdullah Ocalan's call in February 2025.

In Ankara, a march started from Yuksel Street towards the Turkish Parliament. Police forces prevented the movement of the crowd for a long time, but after protesting the protesters, they were allowed to continue. In this gathering, "Tunjar Bekerkhan", the co-chairman of the Dem Party, criticized the performance of the Turkish government and said that the country is in a "historic stage" and emphasized that the peace process will not progress without practical measures.

In his speech, he called for the improvement of the conditions of communication, life and political activity of Abdullah Ocalan and said: "On the one hand, we cannot talk about negotiations and on the other hand, we cannot prevent peace marches." Beker Khan also called the execution of the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights, the release of political prisoners, and the end of the system of government guardians in municipalities as the main demands of the protesters.

In Diyarbakir, thousands of people participated in a large march that started in front of Prison No. 5. Tolay Hatem Ogulari, another co-chairman of the Dem party, announced in this rally that "the first step for peace is to determine the status of Abdullah Ocalan." He asked the Turkish government to approve the necessary laws to advance the peace process before the parliament is closed.

In Istanbul, demonstrators marched from Kadikoy Square to the area's waterfront, chanting slogans in support of Öcalan, the release of prisoners, and democracy. The speakers of the rally emphasized that the Kurdish community and various parts of the Turkish society want peace, but the government has not taken "any concrete action" so far.

In the city of Van, thousands of people participated in a similar march. In the final statement, the organizers announced that the people of Turkish Kurdistan are still waiting for the government's practical measures to solve the Kurdish issue and warned that continuing to ignore the people's demands could exacerbate political crises.

In addition to these cities, rallies and marches with the slogan "A step for peace" were also held in other cities such as Izmir, Sarnak, Dersim, Mardin, Kars, Erzurum, Malatya, Konya and Eskishahr. The participants in these gatherings demanded the release of Abdullah Ocalan, the end of security policies and the beginning of a legal process to solve the Kurdish problem.