Abdullah Öcalan: PKK Should Lay Down Arms and Disband

Abdullah Öcalan, the founder of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), who is imprisoned, has called on this Kurdish militant group to lay down its arms and disband. Mr. Öcalan announced in a historic statement read in Istanbul on Thursday, March 9, "All groups must lay down their arms, and the PKK must disband." The founder of the PKK has been held in complete isolation in Imralı prison since 1999 and prepared his statement in his cell there. Öcalan's request comes four months after Ankara offered him a peace proposal. His words were read by a delegation from the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) who met with him early Thursday. He emphasized in this statement, "I am making the request to lay down arms and take historical responsibility for this request." Öcalan, the 75-year-old leader of the PKK, founded the party in 1984, and the armed conflicts between this party and the Turkish army have resulted in tens of thousands of deaths. Since Öcalan's imprisonment in 1999, numerous efforts have been made to end the bloodshed that began in 1984 and has left over 40,000 dead. The last round of negotiations in 2015 failed following an increase in violence. Since then, no communication was established until last October when the government of Devlet Bahçeli, leader of the far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), unexpectedly offered a peace proposal to Öcalan, provided he renounced violence. This move was also supported by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Abdullah Öcalan was captured by Turkish special forces in Kenya in 1999, but despite being imprisoned, he still holds significant influence over his supporters. It is unclear how much impact he currently has on the PKK, whose fighters are mainly based in the mountains of northern Iraq. In a statement read during the Nowruz celebration in 2015 for a large crowd, he said, "This 40-year struggle of ours, which has been accompanied by pain and suffering, has not been in vain, but at the same time, it is no longer sustainable." That year's negotiations were his last good opportunity to achieve a diplomatic solution to the conflicts. However, four months later, the peace process collapsed, and the conflicts entered their bloodiest phase, especially in urban areas of southeastern Turkey. Today, the conflicts are mainly concentrated in northern Iraq, where the PKK's main base is located. Öcalan was born into a rural family in the village of Ömerli in southeastern Turkey, and his political views were shaped amid violent street clashes between leftist and rightist groups in the 1970s. He separated from the Turkish left in 1978 and founded the PKK with the aim of fighting for an independent state for the Kurds of Turkey. Öcalan had previously dropped out of the Ankara University Faculty of Political Science. The PKK, which is recognized as a terrorist group by Turkey, the United States, and the European Union, operated from Syrian territory under Öcalan's leadership until 1998. However, when Turkey threatened war, Damascus forced him to leave the country. After leaving Syria, Öcalan initially sought refuge in Russia, then Italy and Greece, but was ultimately captured in 1999 in Nairobi, Kenya. After his capture, he was transferred to Ankara under heavy security measures by Turkish special forces and was sentenced to death in court. His sentence was later commuted to life imprisonment, and he has been in prison ever since.