In a historic statement made Thursday, Abdullah Ocalan, the imprisoned leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), called on the Kurdish militant group to disarm and disband. The message was delivered by a delegation of lawmakers from the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), who visited Ocalan in prison earlier that day.

Ocalan’s declaration, read out in both Kurdish by Ahmet Türk and in Turkish by Pervin Buldan at a press conference in Istanbul, urged the PKK to lay down its arms and dissolve itself. He emphasized the responsibility he was assuming with this call, which he described as historic. Ocalan also thanked Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the leader of the far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), Devlet Bahçeli, for their support of peace efforts. He credited their cooperation and the positive responses from various political parties for creating the environment in which he felt compelled to issue this call.

The statement called for the PKK to convene a congress and voluntarily decide to lay down arms and disband. Ocalan did not address any specific steps the Turkish government might take regarding Kurdish demands for greater political and cultural rights, nor did he mention preconditions for the PKK’s disarmament. In a note shared with the DEM Party delegation, Ocalan briefly indicated that the cessation of violence and the dissolution of the PKK would require the recognition of democratic politics and its legal framework, though he did not elaborate on the matter.

Serving a life sentence without parole since his 1999 capture in Nairobi, Ocalan, now 75, has been at the center of various efforts to end the conflict that began in 1984 and has resulted in over 40,000 deaths. Previous peace talks collapsed in 2015, but after months of silence, Ocalan received a peace gesture from Bahçeli in October, which was supported by President Erdoğan. This gesture led to renewed discussions between Ocalan and a DEM Party delegation, including Thursday’s meeting that brought together various prominent Kurdish politicians and lawmakers.

With Ocalan's call for disarmament, there is growing speculation that his decision could lead to future concessions for Turkey’s Kurdish population, though the details remain unclear. The DEM Party representatives, who have been instrumental in facilitating these peace talks, continue to hold meetings with Ocalan, anticipating further developments in the ongoing efforts to resolve the Kurdish issue.