PKK declares ceasefire in 40-year conflict

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The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) has announced its intention to initiate a ceasefire with Turkey, in alignment with calls from its imprisoned leader, Abdullah Öcalan, for disarmament, as reported by Kurdish media outlets.

This declaration, made by the PKK and reported by the pro-PKK Firat news agency (ANF) on Saturday, marks a significant step toward resolving the 40-year conflict between the PKK and the Turkish government.

According to the statement: “In order to pave the way for the implementation of leader Apo’s call for peace and democratic society, we are declaring a ceasefire effective from today.

“We agree with the content of the call as it is and we say that we will follow and implement it.

“None of our forces will take armed action unless attacked.”

The PKK expressed its hope that Turkey would release Öcalan, who has been in near-total isolation since his imprisonment in 1999, so he can lead the disarmament process. They also stressed that for the disarmament to succeed, the necessary political and democratic conditions need to be established.

Öcalan made a historic appeal from prison on Thursday for the PKK to disarm, dissolve itself, and end its long-standing conflict with Turkey.

Turkey’s President, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, praised Öcalan’s call on Friday, describing it as a “historic opportunity” for peace and stated that Turkey would ensure the peace process reaches a successful conclusion. He also emphasized that eliminating terrorism and armed conflict would naturally create space for democratic politics.

Öcalan, who is currently imprisoned on Imrali Island near Istanbul, has been convicted of treason and has remained influential within the PKK since founding it in 1978.

Despite being designated a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States, and the European Union, the PKK has been involved in an insurgency since 1984, fighting for Kurdish autonomy. The conflict has claimed more than 40,000 lives.

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