Ocalan calls on PKK to end war with Turkey
The call on Thursday has far-reaching political and security consequences for the region, provided that the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) leadership heeds its founder”s demand, which is not guaranteed.
In a message from his prison on an island off Istanbul, Ocalan said that the PKK should hold a congress and decide to disband. Now 75, Ocalan has been held in solitary confinement since 1999 on Imrali prison island.
“All groups must lay down their arms, and the PKK must dissolve itself,” his message read. “I am making a call for the laying down of arms, and I take on the historical responsibility for this call.”
Last year, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s coalition partner, Devlet Bahceli, offered Ocalan parole if his group fully disbanded.
The peace effort comes at a time when Erdogan seeks to enact a new constitution that could allow him to stay in power.
There was no immediate reaction from the PKK’s leadership, which is based in northern Iraq.
Iraq”s Kurdistan regional president Nechirvan Barzani welcomed the call.
The leader of the Syrian Kurdish militias that are affiliated with the PKK said Ocalan”s call will not affect the SDF group which is supported by the US.
UN chief Antonio Gutteres “welcomes this important development,” his spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters. “This represents a glimmer of hope which would lead to a resolution of a long standing conflict.”
The German foreign ministry said, “An end to the violence is the important first step, but further steps are needed.
MNA/PressTV
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