Jailed Kurdish PKK leader Ocalan issues call to lay down arms

Imprisoned Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Öcalan has called on the organization to lay down its arms and disband itself. This statement aims to end the four-decade-long armed conflict in southeastern Turkey, which has resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of people. Öcalan's call offers a glimmer of hope for ending the long-standing conflict, potentially paving the way for peace.

Öcalan, 75, held hours-long meetings with lawmakers from the pro-Kurdish Dem Party on İmralı Island, south of the Sea of Marmara. He has been held in solitary confinement on the island since 1999. The lawmakers subsequently read out his letter, which emphasized the need to resolve issues through democratic means. "Democracy is the only option in terms of pursuing and achieving a political system," Öcalan wrote in the letter, "Democratic consensus is the fundamental path."

Dem Party members Ahmet Türk and Pervin Buldan read the letter in Kurdish and Turkish at a hotel in Istanbul. They had previously visited İmralı Island three times in recent months. In his letter, Öcalan called on members of the PKK, stating that "all groups must lay down their arms, and the PKK must disband itself." He also stated that the main reason for the organization's formation was that "channels for democratic politics were closed."

Devlet Bahçeli, a Turkish government ally and leader of the far-right Nationalist Movement Party, launched an initiative to end the conflict several months ago. Bahçeli has been pushing for strong military action against the PKK for years, but in October of last year, he surprised his colleagues by shaking hands with Dem Party lawmakers. Subsequently, he stated that if Öcalan renounced violence and disbanded his armed organization, granting him parole could be considered.

Öcalan's statement has sparked some cautious optimism that the 40-year conflict could come to an end. A senior member of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), Efkan Ala, said, "We will watch the results." The largest opposition party, the secular Republican People's Party (CHP), said they would hold a meeting on Thursday evening. Dem Party's Pervin Buldan and Sırrı Süreyya Önder have met with Öcalan twice in recent weeks and briefed other political parties on their visits. Önder stated before an audience consisting mainly of Kurdish politicians and journalists that they were at a positive turning point in history.

The statement has been widely welcomed by Kurdish leaders, and local reports indicate that thousands of people gathered in cities like Diyarbakır and Van to watch the statement on large screens. However, significant questions remain among both the Kurdish and Turkish public about what steps might be taken next. Not everyone is convinced that the situation will change. Last week, a senior PKK commander, Duran Kalkan, warned that the ruling Justice and Development Party was not seeking a solution but wanted to "take over, destroy, and eliminate."

In recent years, pro-Kurdish politicians have faced repression and imprisonment. Last year, two leaders of the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), Selahattin Demirtaş and Figen Yüksekdağ, were sentenced to 42 and 30 years in prison, respectively, for deadly riots in 2014. They have been imprisoned since 2016. Kurdish politicians called this a "stain" on the Turkish judicial system, and the HDP subsequently reorganized as the Dem Party. Since the PKK launched its insurgency, approximately 40,000 people have been killed. Violence surged in southeastern Turkey between 2015 and 2017 when a two-and-a-half-year ceasefire collapsed. Most recently, in October, the PKK claimed responsibility for an attack near Ankara on the Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) headquarters, resulting in five deaths.

As Öcalan's letter was being read, the opposition Good Party hung a huge black banner at its headquarters commemorating the victims of the PKK: "We will not forget, we will not let them be forgotten." This reflects the complex emotions and ongoing concerns within Turkish society regarding the PKK's history.