DEM Party 'more hopeful' after rare talks with Öcalan

The Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) has expressed renewed hope for resolving the Kurdish issue following a rare meeting with Abdullah Öcalan, the jailed PKK leader serving life on a prison island off Istanbul.

The visit was the party's first in almost a decade. The pro-Kurdish DEM Party's predecessor, the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), last met Öcalan in April 2015.

DEM Party's delegation, made up of lawmakers Sırrı Süreyya Önder and Pervin Buldan, traveled to the island after the government approved the party's request on Dec. 27.

"We are much more hopeful than in previous processes," Önder told private broadcaster A Haber on Dec. 30. No public information would be released until discussions reach a "certain maturity," he added.

"This decision does not mean hiding anything. On the contrary, it is a requirement of respect for the talks we will be holding," Önder said, promising a more detailed statement in the new year.

A peace process between PKK and the government collapsed in 2015, unleashing violence especially in the country's southeast.

Meanwhile, political parties have voiced divergent opinions on the rare meeting.

"We wish that there would be no terrorist organization left against us and that the need to fight against it would be eliminated. Who wouldn't want that?" Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz told reporters on a question.

"The Turkish Republic will continue its fight against terrorism in a determined and uninterrupted manner. No one should have any doubts about that."

Main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Özgür Özel emphasized the need for parliamentary oversight.

"We are in favor of the process being carried out transparently. One of our most...