Dilek Öcalan

Dilek Öcalan
MP
Member of the Grand National Assembly
Assumed office
7 June 2015
Constituency Şanlıurfa (June 2015, Nov 2015)
Personal details
Born (1987-10-03) 3 October 1987
Şanlıurfa, Turkey
Nationality Turkish
Political party Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP)
Other political
affiliations		 Democratic Regions Party (DBP)
Occupation Politician

Dilek Öcalan (born 3 October 1987) is a Turkish politician of Kurdish origin from the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) who currently serves as a Member of Parliament for the electoral district of Şanlıurfa since 7 June 2015. She is the niece of Abdullah Öcalan, the imprisoned leader of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) militant organisation that has been in conflict with the Turkish Armed Forces since the 1980s, making both her candidacy and election to Parliament highly controversial.

Early life

Dilek Öcalan was born on 3 October 1987 in Şanlıurfa as the daughter of Fatma Öcalan, the sister of imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan. On 23 December 2013, she visited her uncle at İmralı Prison and became known to the media after she gave a press statement detailing the conversation between them.[1] Öcalan has been imprisoned since 1999, serving aggravated life imprisonment under charges of founding and leading a terrorist organisation (namely the PKK, which is recognised as a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the European Union and the United States).

Political career

Öcalan first entered politics in 2012, a year before meeting her uncle on the Island of İmralı. During the third congress of the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP), she was elected to the party executive while the party changed its name to Democratic Regions Party (DBP) and adopted a fraternal relationship with the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP).[2]

Member of Parliament

Öcalan's candidacy to become a Member of Parliament despite being the niece of Abdullah Öcalan was heavily controversial, drawing strong opposition from Turkish nationalists.[3] Her candidacy also allegedly caused a split within the Öcalan family.[4][5] Nevertheless, she was put forward as a HDP candidate for the electoral district of Şanlıurfa, being fielded as the second candidate on the HDP's provincial party list. She was subsequently elected in the June 2015 general election to become one of the youngest MPs in the new Parliament, resulting in her being appointed to the temporary Speaker's Council until a new Council could be elected in July.[6]

See also

References

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