ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - In their first response to Abdullah Ocalan’s call to lay down arms, an umbrella group of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) on Friday said the jailed leader’s message has their “full support.”
“As the KNK, we understand the crucial importance of Mr. Ocalan’s historic call, and voice our full support for it. We will work to seize this opportunity and to use all our resources for a peaceful and democratic solution,” the Kurdistan National Congress (KNK) said in a statement.
Ocalan, who founded the PKK in 1978 and launched a war against the Turkish state six years later, explained in a much-anticipated letter released on Thursday that the establishment of the party was a reaction to the “closure of democratic political channels” at the time.
“PKK was born on the ground formed by the 20th century, which was history's most intense period of violence, including two world wars, real-socialism and global cold war environments, the denial of Kurdish reality, and restrictions on freedoms, especially freedom of expression,” he said, adding that the situation has now changed and the PKK “has completed its life.”
The letter, which was read out by the delegation that visited him at Imrali prison on Thursday, called on the PKK to “convene your congress and decide for integration with the state and society; all groups should lay down their arms and the PKK should dissolve itself.”
The KNK called on Ankara “not to miss this historic opportunity, to give positive responses to this call, and open the way to democratic politics and resolve the Kurdish question through dialogue,” also urging the international community to play a role in peace efforts.
PKK commanders on the ground have not responded to Ocalan’s message, but had earlier stated that they would not heed any call from their leader to lay down arms unless he meets them in person.
Ocalan has been held since 1999 at the island prison of Imrali with limited contact with the outside world, including his family and lawyers.
A lawmaker from the political party that has been leading the renewed peace process on Friday said that a photo of Ocalan that was released along with his letter was a screengrab from a video that may be shared during Kurdish New Year (Newroz) celebrations next month.
The image shows Ocalan holding papers in his hands and sitting alongside the delegates who visited him at Imrali prison on Thursday. It was released by the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party).
“Ocalan in that photo is actually speaking. So, there is a video [in which]... he read his statement,” Cengiz Candar, a member of the DEM Party, told Rudaw’s Hurvan Rafaat on the sidelines of Erbil Forum 2025.
Candar, who followed the PKK-Turkey conflict as a journalist and writer for decades and wrote a book about the history of the group and previous peace efforts, said Ocalan’s message is not a just call but also an order that PKK commanders on the ground are not allowed to disobey.
“It is kind of an instruction to the PKK - apply my decision, implement my decision. So, this is not a call alone, it is a decision. It is a decision on the part of Ocalan, which he calls his organization to follow,” he stated.
It is not clear when the PKK’s military leadership, believed to be based on Qandil mountain in the Kurdistan Region where the Iraqi, Turkish, and Iranian borders meet, will respond to Ocalan’s call.
An estimated 40,000 people, including civilians, have been killed in four decades of conflict that has spilled over international borders.
Several Western and regional countries as well as leaders and politicians within Turkey and the Kurdistan Region have welcomed Ocalan’s message and expressed hope that it will bring peace to the region.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday said Turkey has entered a new phase “in the efforts for a terror-free Turkey since yesterday.”
The deputy leader of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), Efkan Ala, said “If the terrorist organization evaluates this call, lays down its arms, and disbands itself, Turkey will be freed from its shackles.”
Turkey’s opposition parties have positively responded to the call, with some saying that the parliament should be the arena for any deals regarding the peace process.
Hopes of a renewed drive for peace were boosted in October when ultranationalist Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahceli shook hands with members of the DEM Party in the legislature. Bahceli also proposed inviting Ocalan to address the parliament and declare the dissolution of the group, considered by Ankara to be a terror organization.
Ocalan noted Bahceli’s role in his letter.
“The call made by Mr. Devlet Bahceli, along with the will expressed by Mr. President [Erdogan], and the positive responses from the other political parties towards the known call, has created an environment in which I am making a call for the laying down of arms, and I take on the historical responsibility of this call,” he said.
Kurds have been historically discriminated against in Turkey and denied cultural rights, and at times even recognition. A pro-Kurdish political party, DEM Party’s predecessor, entered the parliament for the first time in 2015, the same year the previous peace process collapsed.
Kurdish politicians, journalists, and civil society activists, however, have frequently been accused of having ties with the PKK and detained and prosecuted on terrorism charges. Human Rights Watch said on Friday that Ankara should use the opportunity created by Ocalan to end these practices.
“The Erdogan government should seize the moment of this landmark call to correct course and as a first step drop unfounded criminal charges against those accused of PKK links simply for exercising their rights to free speech, association, and other lawful activities,” said Hugh Williamson, Europe and Central Asia director at the human rights monitor. “The government should review all convictions under the same charges and embark on reforms to end the misuse of criminal law and detention of government critics.”
