ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) said on Friday that it “successfully” held its much-anticipated congress on founder Abdullah Ocalan’s call to disband and the result will be announced soon.
"The PKK 12th congress was successfully held in the Media Defense Areas from May 5 to 7. The congress was conducted in two different areas in parallel, with delegates representing all areas of work,” said a statement from the congress committee reported by the PKK-affiliated ANF news outlet, referring to areas of the Kurdistan Region bordering Turkey and Iran where the group is believed to be headquartered.
The congress was held to discuss a historic letter from leader Ocalan released in late February that said the PKK had served its purpose and it was time for the struggle for Kurdish rights to be taken off the battlefield and into the political sphere. He called on the PKK to disband and disarm.
During the congress, the “perspectives and proposals” made by Ocalan were read out and evaluated, according to the statement. “Additionally, the brief report of the PKK Central Committee was also read and discussed at the congress.”
The PKK said it made decisions about its disarmament and dissolution and the results will be shared with the public “very soon after the results from the two different areas are combined,” the statement added.
The group renewed its call for “the physical freedom” of Ocalan, who has been jailed at Imrali prison since 1999.
The PKK statement came moments after Aysegul Dogan, spokesperson for the Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) that has been mediating peace talks between the PKK and the Turkish state, told reporters that the key congress could be held “at any moment.”
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday that they have “overcome all obstacles” and the PKK would lay down its weapons and dissolve itself “either today or tomorrow.”
Turkey and the PKK have been engaged in a decades-long armed conflict. Founded in 1978 in response to oppression of the Kurdish population in Turkey, the PKK initially struggled for an independent Kurdistan but now calls for greater political and cultural rights within Turkey. Ankara and its Western allies consider the group a terrorist organization.
"Now the real foundations of peace will be laid. Congratulations to all of us," Pervin Buldan, a member of the Imrali delegation, told Haberturk news outlet following the PKK statement on congress.
Updated at 2:56 with Pervin Buldan reaction.
