Iraq Öcalan calls for the dissolution of the PKK
The imprisoned leader of the banned Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), Abdullah Öcalan, has called on his followers to lay down their arms. "All groups must lay down their arms and the PKK must disband," said Öcalan in a statement read out by the pro-Kurdish Dem party in Istanbul. A delegation from the party had initially visited Öcalan in prison on the island of Imrali in the Sea of Marmara in the morning.
27.02.2025, 15:42
SDA
Öcalan's appeal could lead to a new peace process between the PKK and the Turkish government - the first step of its kind in more than ten years. A ceasefire was last declared in 2013, but the peace process failed in the summer of 2015. The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization in Turkey, the EU and the USA.
The PKK has been fighting for a Kurdish state or autonomous region in south-eastern Turkey since the 1980s, using armed violence and attacks. According to its own statements, the PKK has since abandoned its maximum demand for an independent state. Tens of thousands of people have died in the conflict so far. Öcalan (75) has been imprisoned on the prison island of Imrali since 1999.
Öcalan's declaration met with great public interest. It was broadcast on public screens in the Kurdish-dominated south-east. It is still uncertain whether the PKK will heed his call. The PKK leadership currently includes Murat Karayilan and Cemil Bayik, who are wanted by the Turkish state on terrorism charges.
Conflict with PKK in Turkey also affects Syria
The PKK headquarters are located in the Kandil Mountains in northern Iraq. According to the International Crisis Group, the conflict has shifted from Turkey to northern Iraq and northern Syria since 2019 after the Turkish military pushed the PKK fighters back further and further.
In northern Syria, the Kurdish militia YPG, which Ankara is fighting as a PKK offshoot, controls large areas. Observers assume that the conflict between the Turkish government and the PKK can only be resolved in conjunction with a solution in northern Syria.
Ultra-nationalists provide impetus
The first impetus for new negotiations came from the ultra-nationalists of the MHP party, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's partner in government. At the end of last year, MHP leader Devlet Bahceli raised the possibility of Öcalan's release if the PKK laid down its arms. In December, Öcalan was allowed to receive a visit from party officials from the pro-Kurdish Dem party in prison for the first time in years.
The Dem provides numerous mayors in south-eastern Turkey. It campaigns politically for more rights for Kurds, who make up around 20 percent of the Turkish population. The government accuses the party of being an extension of the PKK. The Dem rejects this.
