In a historic announcement, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) declared a ceasefire with Turkey on Saturday, marking a potential turning point in the four-decade-long conflict. The decision follows an unprecedented call from the PKK’s jailed leader, Abdullah Öcalan, urging the group to lay down arms and disband.
“In order to pave the way for the implementation of (Ocalan’s) call for peace and democratic society, we are declaring a ceasefire effective from today,” the PKK’s executive committee stated, according to the pro-PKK ANF news agency. The group, which has been engaged in an armed struggle since 1984, affirmed that its fighters would refrain from any armed action unless attacked.
While the PKK expressed agreement with Ocalan’s call, the group emphasized the need for a secure environment to convene a congress that would formalize its dissolution. It also called for an improvement in Ocalan’s prison conditions, demanding that he be allowed to “live and work in physical freedom and be able to establish unhindered relationships with anyone he wants.”
Since Ocalan’s imprisonment in 1999, various peace efforts have been attempted, including a ceasefire in 2013 that ultimately collapsed in 2015. The failure of past negotiations has left many skeptical about whether this latest truce will hold.
