The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) will heed the call of its imprisoned leader Abdullah Ocalan for disarmament and declare an immediate ceasefire, the news agency close to the group reported on Saturday, which is a major step toward ending the 40-year conflict with the Turkish state.
The group stated that it hopes Ankara will release Ocalan, who has been held in near-total isolation since 1999, so that he can lead the disarmament process, adding that necessary political and democratic conditions need to be established for the process to succeed.
“Furthermore, issues such as laying down arms can only be practically realized under the practical leadership of leader Apo,” the group stated, using the nickname for Ocalan, adding that they will immediately halt all hostilities unless they are attacked.
The DEM party called on the government to take steps toward democratization, stating that its response is of key importance. The government claims it will not negotiate with the PKK and that all Kurdish militias, including those in Iraq and Syria, must lay down their arms.
Although they welcome Ocalan’s appeal as positive, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), United States (U.S.) allies, which Ankara considers an extension of the PKK, stated that it does not apply to them.
Ankara has repeatedly called on the SDF’s armed wing to disarm since the fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad last year, warning that otherwise they will face military action.
Ocalan’s appeal was welcomed by the U.S., the European Union (EU), and other Western allies, as well as Turkey’s neighbors Iraq and Iran.
