Abdulla Okaran, the imprisoned leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), placed his arms on Thursday in a historic statement shared by pro-Kurdish politicians, called on the disbanded groups.
Okaran’s appeal could mark a turning point in a decades-long conflict between the PKK and Türkiye.
Okaran once explained that an armed struggle against the state was necessary because of policies that restricted Kurdish identity and Kurdish rights and freedoms.
“The PKK was born in the 20th century. Of the two world wars, the most violent period in human history, under the shadow of real socialism and Cold War experiences around the world,” he said.
“The complete denial of Kurdish reality, the fundamental rights and freedoms, and especially the limitations of freedom of expression, played an important role in its emergence and development.”
However, Okaran said that armed resistance no longer holds meaning as the region develops due to the democratic measures taken by the Turkish government on the Kurdish issue.
“Every group has to put their arms on it and the PKK has to melt itself,” he said. Okaran’s appeal to “all groups” shows that he means all PKK derivations in Syria and Iran.
Okaran added that separate nation-states, federations, administrative autonomy or culturalist solutions for the Kurds cannot meet the needs of Turkish society.
“The identity, free self-expression, and democratic self-organization of each segment of society based on one’s own socioeconomic and political structures can only be achieved through the existence of a democratic society and political space,” he said.
“There is no alternative to democracy in pursuing and realizing a political system. Democratic consensus is a fundamental method.”
Okaran’s message was read aloud by the so-called Imrari delegation, a group of pro-Kurdish Dem party politicians who visited him on Imrari island on Thursday.
The delegation included lawyers representing Okaran and politicians from the DEM, considered to be close to the PKK headquarters in Iraq’s Kandil Mountains.
The statement was broadcast live on the big screen in the eastern cities of Van and Diyarbakir.
Sari Muslims, co-chair of the Democratic Union Party (PYD), told Al Arabia that his group agreed to Okaran’s statement.
“We are waiting for the Kurdistan Workers’ Congress to decide,” he said. “If you are allowed to work politically, you don’t need weapons. If the reason for carrying the weapons disappears, we will put them there.”
Negotiations between Okaran and the Turkish government began last year and were publicly revealed by Turkish nationalist leader Debrett Bahaselli, chairman of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and allies of President Recept Tayyip Erdogan.
In October, Bahaselli would invite Ocaran to formally appeal to Congress to dissolve the PKK, paving the way for legal procedures that would allow Ocaran to be released under the principle of “rights of hope.” This principle refuses life imprisonment without parole and limits sentences to a maximum of 25 years.