Öcalan calls for voluntary disarmament, democratic transition in Turkey
DAMASCUS, Syria (North Press) – In a rare video message on Wednesday, Abdullah Öcalan, the imprisoned founder of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), announced the formation of a broad and responsible parliamentary committee tasked with overseeing a voluntary disarmament process in Turkey.
“The appropriate steps and mechanisms for disarmament will be identified and implemented swiftly,” Öcalan said in the recorded statement, emphasizing a peaceful resolution to decades of armed conflict.
Öcalan declared that the PKK abandoned its objective of establishing a nation-state and its strategy of armed struggle. “Ending the armed fight and moving toward a legal and democratic political phase is not a defeat,” he stated, “but rather a historic victory.”
He stressed that the proposed disarmament mechanism would advance the peace process and voluntarily end the PKK’s military campaign. “My belief lies in politics and societal peace, not in weapons,” Öcalan asserted. “I urge you all to adopt this principle.”
Calling for a transition to democratic politics, Öcalan highlighted the role of the People’s Equality and Democracy Party, which he said would operate within the framework of the Turkish parliament and assume its responsibilities in facilitating the new phase.
“The current moment demands practical steps, goodwill, and forward movement,” he concluded, signaling a renewed commitment to a peaceful and democratic path forward.
Earlier this year, in late February, Öcalan issued a historic appeal urging the PKK to lay down arms and dissolve itself, a message delivered publicly by a pro-Kurdish party in Turkey. The call drew significant regional and international support, being hailed as a potential turning point in the Kurdish-Turkish conflict.