Kurdish group asks Ankara to set free jailed leader Abdullah Ocalan, who’s been in nearly complete isolation since 1999.
The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) has announced a truce with Turkiye, following a request by its incarcerated leader, Abdullah Ocalan, to disarm, according to Kurdish media outlets.
The move by the banned organization, as reported by the pro-PKK Firat news agency (ANF) on Saturday, could signal a significant step towards resolving a four-decade-long conflict with the Turkish government.
“To facilitate the introduction of the leader Apo’s call for peace and a democratic society, we are declaring a ceasefire, effective immediately,” stated the PKK executive committee, referring to Ocalan.
“The content of the call is agreed upon by us, and we commit to follow and enact it,” the committee said.
“Our forces will not engage in armed actions unless provoked,” it added.
The group anticipates the release of Ocalan, who has been in close confinement since 1999, to lead the disarmament process. They also emphasize the necessity for the establishment of the suitable political and democratic conditions for this process to achieve success.
However, the statement did not mention a timeline for the group’s disassociation.
Thursdays, Ocalan made a landmark appeal from prison calling on the party to surrender its weapons, dissolve, and cease its longstanding conflict with Turkey.
Ocalan, 75, is serving life in prison on Imrali Island, near Istanbul, after his conviction for treason in 1999. In spite of his captivity, he maintains substantial sway over the PKK, which he founded in 1978.
The day after, Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan endorsed Ocalan’s call, declaring it “a historic opportunity for peace.”
He stated that Turkey would “closely monitor” the negotiations towards ending the rebellion to ensure they “reach a successful conclusion”.
“Once the pressures of terrorism and weaponry are lifted, the space for politics in democracy will naturally broaden,” Erdogan said.
PKK, categorised as a terror group by Turkiye, the US, and the EU, has been fighting since 1984 to establish a homeland for the Kurds, comprising approximately 20 percent of Turkey’s population of 85 million.
Since Ocalan’s incarceration in 1999, there have been multiple attempts to cease the violence, which has claimed more than 40,000 lives. These efforts have largely been fruitless, with the last attempt in 2015 ending in failure.
PKK expressed on Saturday it was prepared to hold a congress as Ocalan desired, but “for this to occur, an appropriate and safe backdrop must be created” and Ocalan “should personally direct and lead it for the congress to be fruitful,” a statement added.
Iraq has welcomed Ocalan’s call, seeing it “as a positive and crucial step towards achieving regional stability.”
The PKK’s presence in Iraq has been a frequent source of strife between Baghdad and Ankara. Turkiye maintains military bases in Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdistan region and often conducts operations against Kurdish armed groups. The group also holds positions in the region.
