Sırrı Süreyya Önder, a veteran politician respected across Turkey’s political spectrum for his efforts to end the conflict between Ankara and Kurdish militants, died Saturday at the age of 62, an İstanbul hospital said.
A lawmaker from the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) who served as parliament’s deputy speaker, Önder died two-and-a-half weeks after undergoing heart surgery following cardiac arrest on April 15.
The episode left him in critical condition, prompting an outpouring of concern including from President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who accuses the DEM Party of ties to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
Erdoğan had called Önder’s daughter to say he was “closely” monitoring her father’s health, and on Saturday expressed his “sadness” at the news of his death.
“I sincerely believe that we will reach the goal of a Turkey without terrorism, which Önder had worked for so much in recent times,” the Turkish president said.
Born in 1962 into a Turkish socialist family in Adıyaman, in the Kurdish-majority southeast, Önder grew up immersed in both cultures and went on to play a key role in helping to facilitate peace talks that began in 2013.
“His temperament and career path made him a real expert in talking with everyone,” Ertuğrul Kürkçü, former head of the now-defunct HDP, the DEM Party’s predecessor, told Agence France-Presse.
His role as a peacemaker came to the fore in recent months when he travelled three times to İmralı Island to meet with Abdullah Öcalan, the jailed founder of the outlawed PKK, as part of a small DEM Party delegation.
The aim was to advance a fresh dialogue bid initiated by Ankara seeking to end the decades-long conflict with the PKK that has claimed over 40,000 lives.
‘Postman of peace’
After their last visit on February 27, the delegation returned with a historic letter from Öcalan urging his militants to lay down their arms and disband.
“I will be the postman of peace, if necessary. I’ll give my life for that,” Önder said.
Known for his stubborn determination and irrepressible sense of humor, his efforts to promote peace won him widespread respect.
“Events may seem depressing, but in reality, better days are just around the corner,” he said with a smile in 2018, just before being jailed for a year on charges of spreading “terrorist propaganda.”
He was 16 when he first went to prison after participating in a demonstration, and following a military coup in 1980 he was jailed again for joining a student protest, spending seven years behind bars and allegedly experiencing torture.
Before entering politics, he had a varied career path, working as an apprentice photographer, taxi driver, builder and columnist.
He also wrote and acted in the 2006 film “Beynelmilel” (The International) about repression after the 1980 coup.
“While most Turkish films about the coup focus on the defeat and discouragement of the left, ‘Beynelmilel’ is one of the few films on the subject that offers hope,” said Turkish cinema specialist Mazlum Vesek.
‘I also represent the trees!’
After entering parliament in 2011, Önder became a prominent political figure during the 2013 Gezi Park protests that began in Istanbul over plans to raze a park.
“I also represent the trees!” he shouted at police at the time.
After Önder’s hospitalization in April, PKK founder Öcalan sent him a message of support, noting his “huge efforts for peace.”
“He is a person who was able to break down prejudices within society, within parliament and on the streets,” he said.
“His ability to cope with and manage adversity is important; he is able to turn negative situations into positive situations without making them worse.”
© Agence France-Presse