Abdullah Öcalan, the founder of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), who has been held in prison since 1999, urged the PKK to convene a congress and formally disband in a bid to end a four-decade-long conflict with the Turkish government.

“’All groups must lay down their arms, and the PKK must dissolve itself,” his message, read by pro-Kurdish politicians in Istanbul, stated.

“I am making a call for the laying down of arms, and I take on the historical responsibility of this call,” the 75-year-old leader of the PKK added. 

His announcement follows renewed peace calls between the PKK, which many countries consider a terrorist organization, and the Turkish state. A peace initiative was first proposed in October by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s coalition partner, Devlet Bahçeli, who suggested that Öcalan could be granted parole if the PKK renounced violence.

In Diyarbakir, a Kurdish-majority city in the southeast, around 3,000 people had gathered in a square to listen to an audio broadcast of Öcalan’s message. While many expressed joy over the message, there were also those who said they felt disappointed.

Abdullah Öcalan’ın PKK’ya silah bırakma çağrısı yaptığı mesajı, Diyarbakır’da heyecanla beklendi.

Dağ Kapı Meydanı’nda toplanan binlerce kişi DEM Parti heyetinin basın toplantısının sesini dinledi.

Mesaja sevinenlerin yanısıra hayalkırıklığına uğradığını söyleyenler de oldu… pic.twitter.com/J8KjhN8Ipf

— VOA Türkçe (@VOATurkce) February 27, 2025

Despite Öcalan’s influence over the PKK, it remains uncertain how the group’s leadership, particularly those based in Iraq’s Qandil Mountains, will respond. The PKK has fought for greater Kurdish rights since 1984, and while it has shifted from its original goal of full independence to seeking autonomy, past peace efforts have collapsed, most recently in 2015.

In pictures: Supporters in Diyarbakir reacted on Thursday after Ocalan, 75, called on the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) to lay down arms and dissolve itself

📸: AFP pic.twitter.com/125K384iEP

— The New Region (@thenewregion) February 27, 2025

Meanwhile, the Turkish government has welcomed Öcalan’s statement. Efkan Ala, a senior member of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s ruling party said that the country will be “free of its shackles” if the PKK lays down arms and dissolves.

Ala also said that the government expects the PKK to comply with Öcalan’s call.