ISTANBUL (AP) — Turkey has moved the country's Kurdish militant leader to a newly built part of an island prison where he has been incarcerated since 1999 as part of efforts to end decades of conflict, a senior Kurdish official said.
Improving prison conditions for Abdullah Ocalan, who heads the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, has been a key Kurdish demand in the push to end the 42-year conflict between the militant group and Turkish authorities.
Ocalan has been imprisoned in a penitentiary on the island of Imrali in the Marmara Sea — which links the Black Sea to the Aegean Sea — since he was captured in 1999.
Mithat Sancar, the Kurdish official, confirmed Ocalan's relocation in an interview with Medya Haber TV on Saturday, without providing further details.
He did not confirm that the newly built section of the prison has better accommodations, though his remarks appeared to indicate that.
Sancar, a lawmaker for the pro-Kurdish DEM Party, also called for the peace process to be sped up and said it had been on “a pause” for the last two months.
Ocalan’s move to the new facility, he said, “necessitates an acceleration of the (peace) process.”
Sancar is among a group of DEM Party politicians who have been regularly visiting Ocalan since the militant leader called on the PKK to disband and disarm in February 2025. Ocalan remains an influential figure among Kurds and is seen as key in advancing the peace process.
Three months later, the PKK announced it would lay down its arms and end hostilities. That prompted the Turkish parliament to approve legislation in August offering a conditional pardon to thousands of PKK fighters, which Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan subsequently signed into law.
The conflict with the PKK — designated a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union — has killed tens of thousands of people since 1984.
Sancar stressed that Ocalan, who co-founded the PKK in the 1970s, must coordinate peace negotiations.
“The process cannot proceed with unilateral expectations and demands,” he said, referring to the Turkish government and adding that it “needs to move away from its insistent and rigid stance.”
FILE - Youngsters hold a photograph of Abdullah Ocalan, the jailed leader of the militant Kurdish group, or PKK, in Diyarbakir, Turkey, Feb. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Metin Yoksu, File)
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Her father may no longer be with her, but Lorita Santos keeps the memories they shared close to her heart.
She was among thousands of Filipinos who flocked to cemeteries across Manila on Sunday to visit the graves of their loved ones, marking All Saints’ Day.
For generations, the tradition known locally as Undas has brought families together to remember and honor their dead. The name derives from the Spanish word “honras,” meaning “honors.”
“Just because they have passed away does not mean we should forget them,” said Santos, who visited the resting places of her father and three other relatives.
Her family marks the occasion by offering flowers and candles. Together, they also pray and share snacks.
The visits are an opportunity to share stories about those who have passed away. Santos fondly remembers how her father would give his children and grandchildren small gifts every payday.
“We will never forget that,” she added.
Santos grew up visiting the graves of her relatives, even outside All Saints’ Day. Now, she is teaching her kids to do the same.
“We pass this on to our children to make sure they are aware of the tradition, so that if something happens to us, they know what to do,” Santos said.
Encompassing All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day, Nov. 1 and 2, Undas is rooted in Catholic observances but also incorporates beliefs and customs that predate Spanish colonization.
“There is a very long tradition of ancestor worship in the Philippines,” said Nestor Castro, an anthropology lecturer at the University of the Philippines Diliman.
Long before the Spanish arrived, Filipinos honored ancestral spirits known as anito by offering food and other gifts to the dead. These practices were not tied to a particular date but formed part of a broader tradition of ancestor veneration, Castro explained.
The tradition evolved after the Spanish arrived in 1565 and introduced Catholicism and new religious practices, some of which may have come from Mexico.
The two countries have historical ties dating back to Spanish colonial rule, when the Manila-Acapulco galleon trade connected them for centuries. Today, they also have similar customs for honoring the dead and remembering loved ones.
In Mexico, many families also honor their departed loved ones by spending a day or night at their graves or setting up altars at home. It is a joyful occasion filled with marigolds, music and food.
Similar customs are observed in other countries with strong Catholic traditions, including Bolivia, Poland and Hungary, where families gather to honor their dead with flowers, candles and prayers.
In Filipino culture, death is not only a time to honor those who have passed away, but also an occasion that brings families together, Castro said.
During funeral wakes, he added, families wait for relatives who live far away to arrive before burying their loved ones. “That’s when family reunions occur. It’s a binding event.”
That sense of togetherness also extends to Undas. Sticky rice cakes are often shared for the occasion, symbolizing the bonds between relatives through their sticky texture.
“These events foster and solidify kinship relationships,” Castro said.
For Mike Mamaril, a 42-year-old school maintenance employee, visiting his parents’ graves is a custom passed down from his grandparents. He said he makes time for the annual visit, even though he rarely gets another opportunity to go.
The gatherings are also a chance to reminisce about his mother and father, including the lighter moments of his childhood.
“We always talk about who among us got scolded the most,” Mamaril said.
Hernández reported from Beijing.
Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
A woman takes photos using her smartphone as they visit their departed at Manila's North Cemetery, Philippines while the country observes All Saints' Day on Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
People walk beside apartment-type tombs at Manila's North Cemetery, Philippines as the country observes All Saints' Day on Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
A man carries a child and flowers at Manila's North Cemetery, Philippines as the country observes All Saints' Day on Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
A man places Philippine flags on soldier's tombs at Manila's North Cemetery, Philippines as the country observes All Saints' Day on Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
A man holds a balloon as he walks beside apartment-type tombs at Manila's North Cemetery, Philippines as the country observes All Saints' Day on Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
