Pro-Kurdish party calls for rally in support of PKK leader despite ban

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Turkey’s pro-Kurdish party on Wednesday called on supporters to attend an anticipated rally in the city of Diyarbakir (Amed) in support of the imprisoned leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) Abdullah Ocalan, despite a ban issued by the governor’s office. 

The Pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) planned to organize a rally in the city of Amed. The party released a statement on Wednesday inviting “all our people to the rally that will be held on Sunday, October 13, … to demand the end of isolation, to ensure that Mr. Ocalan can meet with his lawyers and family, and to revive the hope for peace in Turkey.”

The call comes a day after the Diyarbakir governor’s office issued a ban on rallies and public gatherings for five days, ahead of the anticipated rally, citing fear of violence by PKK sympathizers.

“These actions could incite provocative events that harm our national unity and solidarity, intensify incidents aimed at the fundamental principles of the Republic and the indivisible integrity of the state with its country and nation,” read a statement from the governor’s office. 

The ban on rallies begins on Wednesday, October 9 until 11:59 pm on October 13.

Turkey considers the PKK a terrorist organization. Any activity and affiliation with the group is illegal according to Turkish laws.

Rallies and demonstrations in support of Ocalan often end in clashes with security forces.

In November 2023, the Turkish security forces arrested 28 people in the southern province of Mersin for participating in a march that called for “ending isolation" on Ocalan.

Ocalan founded the PKK in 1978 and the party began its armed struggle against the Turkish state in 1984. The party, which fights for the rights of Kurds in Turkey, is designated a terrorist organization by Ankara.

Ocalan was arrested in Nairobi in 1999 and has been in jail ever since. His lawyers and family have several times been prevented from contacting him. His elder brother Mehmet last had a short phone call with him in March 2021. Numerous subsequent requests by lawyers and family to meet the PKK leader have been rejected.