ALBAWABA- Abdullah Ocalan, the jailed leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), has called for the group to dissolve itself and lay down arms, marking a historic turning point in the decades-long Kurdish-Turkish conflict.
The announcement was welcomed by the President of Iraq's Kurdistan Region, who described it as a significant step toward stability.
The President of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan also called Ocalan’s message an "important beginning" for a comprehensive peace.
Mazloum Abdi, Commander of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), praised Ocalan’s statement for its focus on ending the war and fostering a peaceful political process in Türkiye.
However, he clarified that the declaration applies strictly to the PKK and does not affect the SDF’s stance in Syria. “If peace is achieved in Türkiye, there would be no justification for continued attacks on us in Syria,” Abdi added.
Ocalan, who led the PKK’s armed campaign against Türkiye since 1984, was based in Syria until 1998, when international pressure forced his expulsion.
He was captured by Turkish intelligence in Kenya in 1999 and sentenced to life imprisonment on İmralı Island, where he remains.
His latest call for disarmament could reshape the region’s political landscape, potentially bringing an end to one of the longest-running insurgencies in the Middle East.
