Abdullah Öcalan, leader of the Kurdistan Workers Party – declored terrorist organization by the EU, USA and Turkey – has called to leave weapons from the prison in which he has been imprisoned for 26 years. In a letter delivered to the Prokurdo Dem political party (Equality and Democracy Party), Öcalan has affirmed that it assumes the “historical responsibility” of that call and has asked all the groups of doing the same, and the pkk that dissolves.
The DEM has visited the leader in jail this Thursday and subsequently transmitted his message. The Prokurdo party formed a contact group known as the Imrali delegation (by the name of the island on which Öcalan is imprisoned) and has visited the founder of the PKK three times, an unusual event in 26 years in isolation. Imrali’s last visit was almost four years ago.
Öcalan founded the PKK in 1978 with a separatist Marxist-Leninist base and in 1984 the group began the armed struggle against the Turkish government to create a Kurdish state. Öcalan has been in prison since 1999 and the conflict between the Turkish security forces and the PKK have left around 40,000 deaths in four decades. In the 90s the PKK changed its objective towards greater autonomy for the Kurdish people within Türkiye and defines its ideology as “Democratic Confederalism”.
The negotiations between Öcalan and Türkiye began last year and one of the first public samples was the statement of the ultra -nationalist leader Devlet Bahceli. The president of the Nationalist Movement (MHP) party, in a 180 degree turn, invited the founder of the PKK to go to the Turkish Parliament to announce the dismantling of the organization and opening the possibility of its release after more than 25 years in prison.
“The call made by Mr. Devlet Bahceli, as well as the will expressed by the president [Recep Tayyip Erdogan] And the positive responses of other political parties, have created an environment in which I call to leave arms, ”said Öcalan in his letter. It also greets all those who “believe in coexistence” and who have been waiting for this appeal, on which they had been speculating for weeks.
“The two previous dialogues of Ankara with the PKK (2009-2011 and 2013-2015) failed loudly, which gave rise to greater violence and eroded the popularity of the president. This time Erdogan has been more calculating when publishing updates on PKK diplomacy ”, He recently pointed out The Soner Cagaptay analyst, Turkey researcher at the Washington Institute Studies Center and author of several books about Erdogan.
Öcalan has not directed the PKK formally for decades, but is considered the top leader of the organization and its leaders have publicly affirmed that they would listen and share in line with the messages of Öcalan.
Even so, experts have expressed their doubts about the fulfillment of their message. “It is possible that some old leaders suspect that Türkiye will not make concessions similar to house arrest offered to Öcalan. In fact, it is likely that some fear being killed by the National Intelligence Organization of Türkiye (MIT) although they are promised an amnesty in short -term exile. Older commanders could also oppose the total or immediate dissolution of the PKK without achieving any of its original objectives, a result that could suggest that they have wasted their lives in vain, ”says CagapTay.
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