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In a historic development, The jailed leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) Abdullah Ocalan has made a call for the party to lay down its arms, dissolve itself and end its conflict with the Turkish state.
Ocalan handed over the statement to a delegation of Turkiye’s pro-Kurdish DEM Party who was visiting him in the island prison where he has been held since 1999. The statement was later delivered in nearby Istanbul.
“I am making a call for the laying down of arms, and I take on the historical responsibility of this call,” Ocalan said in the letter.
“Convene your [party] congress and make a decision. All groups must lay down their arms and the PKK must dissolve itself,” he continued.
“Respect for identities, free self-expression, democratic self-organisation of each segment of society based on their own socio-economic and political structures, are only possible through the existence of a democratic society and political space,” Ocalan said in his letter.
The PKK is designated as a “terrorist” organisation by Turkiye and its Western allies. The conflict between Turkey and the group has been ongoing for over 46 years with tens of thousands of casualties.
Commenting on the announcement, Turkey’s ruling AK Party Deputy Chairman Efkan Ala said that his country will be “free of its shackles” if the PKK lays down arms and dissolves.
Ala added the government expected the PKK to comply with Ocalan’s call.
Later, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Ocalan’s appeal for the PKK to disband and disarm was a “historic opportunity”.
“We have a historic opportunity to advance towards the objective of destroying the wall of terror”, Erdogan said a day after the jailed PKK founder’s statement.
Erdogan added that Turkey would “keep a close watch” to make sure the talks to end the rebellion were “brought to a successful conclusion”, warning against any “provocations”.
Responding to Ocalan’s call, the PKK declared it will implement a ceasefire with Turkey.
“In order to pave the way for the implementation of leader Apo’s [Ocalan’s] call for peace and democratic society, we are declaring a ceasefire effective from today,” the PKK executive committee said in a statement released on March 1.
“We agree with the content of the call as it is, and we say that we will follow and implement it,” the committee said.
“None of our forces will take armed action unless attacked,” it added.
The group hoped thst Ankara would release Ocalan so he could lead a disarmament, adding that political and democratic conditions need to be established for the process to succeed.
Turkey’s neighbour Iraq has welcomed Ocalan’s call, saying it was “a positive and important step towards achieving stability in the region”.
However in Syria, Mazloum Abdi, the commander of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) that control the northeast of the country, said that the call did not apply to the group he leads.
Abdi’s comment signalled Ocalan’s call would have no immediate impact on the SDF despite the affiliation of the main Kurdish groups at the core of the SDF – the People’s Protection Units (YPG) – to the PKK.
“If there is peace in Turkey, that means there is no excuse to keep attacking us here in Syria,” Abdi noted.
All in All, Ocalan’s call offers Turkey a real chance to end the conflict with the PKK once and for all. However, there is still many obstacles ahead, like the lack of trust and the conflict in Syria.
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