DEM Party calls for PKK-linked leaders to be invited to Turkey

The pro-Kurdish DEM Party has urged the Turkish parliament to invite two senior Syrian Kurdish figures to the country, as part of a push to broaden the current political process. Ayşegül Doğan, the party’s spokesperson, made the call on Wednesday. She said Mazlum Abdi and İlham Ahmed – both leaders of the Syrian Kurdish administration – should be formally invited to Turkey. Abdi is the commander of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a U.S.-backed militia that Turkey regards as linked to the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). Ahmed is a senior political figure in the same administration. Doğan said the invitation should be part of a wider effort that includes civil society groups. She argued that a lasting solution requires more than government and political parties. The DEM Party has long sought to play a role in negotiations over Kurdish rights. The appeal comes amid ongoing, though fragile, efforts to address the conflict between Turkey and the PKK. Turkey’s government has not yet responded to the proposal.