Ocalan on PKK disarmament anniversary: No Turk Without A Kurd

Shafaq News- Ankara

Abdullah Ocalan, the imprisoned founder of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), on Friday renewed his call for the group to end its armed struggle and transition to democratic politics, commemorating the first anniversary of his February 27, 2025, appeal.

Last year, Ocalan urged the PKK to convene a congress, lay down its arms, and formally disband —a move widely viewed as a potential turning point in efforts to end the decades-long conflict with Turkiye.

In a new message carried by ANF News, a media outlet affiliated with the PKK, Ocalan described the 2025 appeal as “a declaration that where democratic politics takes root, weapons become meaningless,” framing it as a clear preference for political engagement over violence.

“To open a process grounded in democratic society and the rule of law” is now the objective, according to the message, which calls on all actors to “assume responsibility” in what he presents as a new era. That transition requires shifting from a “negative phase” marked by conflict to a “phase of positive construction,” built on “democratic society, democratic consensus, and integration.”

Ocalan further linked the February 27 initiative to an effort to revive a spirit of unity reflected in the Republic’s early foundations and to advance the demand for a “Democratic Republic,” adding, “There is no Turk without a Kurd, and no Kurd without a Turk.”

Ocalan has been held in Imrali Prison in northwestern Turkiye since 1999. The PKK, founded in 1978, has been engaged in an armed conflict with the Turkish state since 1984, which has resulted in more than 40,000 deaths. Turkiye, the United States, and the European Union designate the group as a terrorist organization.

Read more: Turkiye’s cautious gamble: PKK disarmament and the regional chessboard