The outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), led by Abdullah Ocalan, has declared the end of the organization’s armed conflict against Turkiye and calls for a complete transition to democratic politics.
The jailed leader retransmitted his message via a videotape from June that the PKK-aligned Firat News Agency broadcast on Wednesday, describing the shift as a “historic gain.”
Ocalan, who has been imprisoned since 1999 but still holds a significant position among Kurds in Turkiye and beyond, said, “This represents a voluntary transition from the phase of armed conflict to the phase of democratic politics and law.”
He argued that the creation of a Turkish parliamentary committee to oversee the peace process and the voluntary disarmament of Kurdish PKK fighters would be “crucial.”
He continued, noting that “care and sensitivity are essential,” and that the disarmament process’ specifics would be “determined and implemented quickly.”
Just days before the first PKK disarmament ceremony in northern Iraq, Ocalan’s message was made public.
After more than 40 years of armed struggle against the Turkish state, the PKK had already made the announcement in May.
Two months prior, Ocalan, also known as “Appo,” or “Appo,” a Kurdish for Uncle, demanded the group’s disarmament in February.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the president of Turkey, stated in a statement to lawmakers from his ruling party on Wednesday that he anticipated immediate progress in the peace initiative and a positive outcome for everyone in the nation and the region.
Everything will change once the wall of terror is destroyed, according to God. Erdogan predicted that there will be no more pain and tears. The Turks, Kurds, and Arabs will be the Turks, the process’ winners. Then, the entire region will be affected.
“We hope that this positive process will come to an end as quickly as possible, free of road accidents, and free from dark and corrupt circles,” Erdogan continued.
The PKK has been labeled a “terrorist” group by Turkiye, the European Union, and the United States for the majority of its history.
Ocalan was born in 1948 in Omerli, Sanliurfa, a Turkiye region with a high proportion of Kurdish people.
He became politically active and helped found the PKK in 1978 after finishing his political science degree at Ankara University.
Under his leadership, the group launched a separatist rebellion against Turkiye six years later.
Source: Aljazeera
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