PKK leader declares 'end of violence-based' era in fresh message

ANKARA

Jailed PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan issued a new statement on Feb. 27, on the first anniversary of his call for the terror group to disband and end armed activities, declaring an end to “violence-based” politics.

Read by Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) lawmaker Pervin Buldan at a press conference in Ankara, the message said his earlier call marked a "declaration of peace with the [Turkish] republic" and "weapons would become meaningless with the implementation of democratic politics."

“At the end of this process, violence will end not only physically but also mentally,” Öcalan said.

“There can be no Turk without a Kurd, and no Kurd without a Turk; this dialectic has a historical uniqueness. The fundamental texts at the founding of the republic expressed Turkish and Kurdish unity,” he added, noting the contributions of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli and main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Özgür Özel.

Öcalan said the aim was “to close the era of violence-based politics and open a process based on a democratic society and the rule of law, and we invite all segments of society to create opportunities and take responsibility in this direction.”

Imprisoned on the İmralı island off Istanbul, the PKK leader had made a similar statement a year ago calling for “Peace and a Democratic Society.”

"As every contemporary society and party whose existence has not been forcibly ended would do voluntarily, convene your congress and make a decision for integration with the state and society. All groups must lay down their arms and the PKK must dissolve itself," he urged.

The statement marked a key moment in a process initiated by Bahçeli in October 2024 and promoted by the government as “terror-free Türkiye."

PKK announced on May 12, 2025, that it had ended its armed activities and dissolved its organizational structure. A symbolic weapons-burning ceremony followed two months later in Iraq.

Parliament subsequently established the National Solidarity, Brotherhood and Democracy Commission to oversee the initiative. Led by Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş, the 51-member commission held its first meeting on Aug. 5, 2025, and included representatives from all parliamentary parties except the İYİ (Good) Party. Its stated goals included fully eliminating terrorism, promoting social integration and raising democratic standards.

On Nov. 24, 2025, commission members Hüseyin Yayman of the AKP, Feti Yıldız of the MHP and Gülistan Kılıç Koçyiğit of the DEM Party visited Öcalan in prison. The CHP and New Path bloc did not participate. After roughly six months of work, the commission adopted its final report by majority vote on Feb. 18.