Abdullah Ocalan, the imprisoned leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), has called on the group to formally disarm and transition to democratic political action, declaring the end of its decades-long armed struggle against Turkey
In a rare video message released on Wednesday — the first in 27 years — Ocalan stated that the existence of the Kurdish people is now recognized by Turkey, and therefore, an armed struggle is no longer necessary. He described the decision to disarm as a “historic victory,” not a defeat, emphasizing that political and societal peace should take precedence over continued violence.
“Creating a mechanism for laying down arms moves the process forward,” Ocalan said. “This should not be seen as a defeat, but rather as a historic victory. The details of laying down arms will be determined and implemented quickly.”
- Ocalan reiterated his call for a legislative commission to oversee the peace process and underlined that the PKK’s original strategy of national liberation and forming a separate Kurdish state had ended.
He also referred to his earlier call on February 27, 2025, for peace and democracy, insisting that the current developments represent a valuable and historic outcome. “I say this openly: all these changes are the result of the meetings I have conducted in Imrali,” he added, referencing the prison where he has been held since 1999.
Ocalan stressed that he never sought personal gains or his own release through this process. Instead, he framed the shift toward legal and democratic politics as a collective moral responsibility and an achievement for the Kurdish cause.
The PKK, which has been designated a terrorist organization by Turkey, the US, and the EU, has waged an armed insurgency in southeastern Turkey since 1984, resulting in over 40,000 deaths. In May, the group announced its intention to disband and disarm, following Ocalan’s February call to end the conflict.
Wednesday’s statement marks a significant turning point for the PKK, signaling a potential end to one of the longest-running conflicts in the region and opening a new chapter for Kurdish-Turkish relations.
https://www.basnews.com/en/babat/888714
The Kurdish people had been fighting for their TRADITIONAL homeland for more than 50 years before the PKK came along with their promise of freedom
Kurds were fighting to protect themselves and their families from GENOCIDE
Turkey is NOT your friend
Turkey has been killing Kurds for more than 100 years
Burning Kurdish homes, villages, farms, fields and woodlands with something akin to Napalm
Turks are savages, it mattered not to them if they burnt farm animals, wildlife or even people who were too slow to escape their bombs
Ocalan is a mouthpiece for the Turkish government
Ocalan is a traitor to the Kurdish cause
We have been told for years that Ocalan is in complete isolation therefore he knows nothing about world politics, he does not know the similarities between Kurds and several other nationalities who fight against occupation forces, the most recent and well known being the Palestinians who fight against occupation forces in their country
Thousands of people people joined the PKK because they were told the PKK would give them a free Kurdistan on what is actually Kurdish land and has been Kurdish land for THOUSANDS of years
Many thousands of Kurds died fighting for their land and their freedom
In recent years the DEM have been brainwashing Kurds, taking away their dignity and pride
Kurds are under an army of occupation
Kurdish land was stolen and divided without their consent and when Kurds objected they were bombed
Remember how Turkey actually treats Kurds, it arrested legally voted in Kurdish Mayors, it invades entire Kurdish villages and keeps them under curfew for days or even weeks on end, it steals the mineral wealth from Kurdish land investing very little back into North Kurdistan
Kurds have the highest rate of unemployment, have the worst living conditions and are the most illiterate section of the population within Turkish borders
Turks HATE Kurds and few would employ them, those who do give Kurds the worst jobs for the lowest wages
Ocalan and the DEM are removing any hope of Kurdish freedom
As Turkey itself follows other countries such as Iran into becoming more Islamic Kurds will lose their culture, their love of music, singing and dancing, the ladies lovely traditional bright colorful clothes, their wonderful picnics all BANNED under Islam
Kurds you are destroying the future of your children and shaming the memory of your heroes
