Öcalan Calls for the Dissolution of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK)
On Thursday, Abdullah Öcalan, the imprisoned leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), called on his group to lay down their weapons and dissolve, according to a message read by a pro-Kurdish party in Turkey.
Öcalan was quoted as saying, “Hold your congress and make a decision. All groups must lay down their arms, and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party must dissolve itself.” The statement was revealed during a conference held by Turkey’s Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party, where Öcalan emphasized that he bears the historical responsibility for this call.
The PKK, classified as a terrorist organization by the European Union and the United States, has been waging an armed struggle against the Turkish state since the 1980s, resulting in tens of thousands of deaths over decades of conflict.
Earlier on Thursday, remarks from the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) hinted at Öcalan’s long-awaited intention to call for an end to the armed conflict between his banned party and the Turkish government.
Who is Abdullah Öcalan?
Abdullah Öcalan is the founder of the PKK, which launched an armed rebellion against the Turkish state in 1984. He has been imprisoned in western Turkey since 1999, serving a life sentence. Initially sentenced to death, his punishment was commuted to life imprisonment after Turkey abolished the death penalty in 2002.
Öcalan, the historic leader of Turkey’s Kurds, is held in near-complete isolation on İmralı Island off the coast of Istanbul. The PKK began its military operations in 1984 across Turkey and Iran, aiming to establish a national homeland for the Kurds.
