Jailed PKK leader Öcalan poised to make "historic" call for disarmament

Abdullah Öcalan, the imprisoned leader of the outlawed PKK, is anticipated to issue a “historic” appeal for his militant group to lay down arms later this week.

A delegation from the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), which has ties to the PKK, has formally requested permission from the Justice Ministry to visit Öcalan at the high-security Imralı prison, where he has been held since his capture in 1999, Caliber.Az reports per Turkish media.

The visit would mark the third such meeting as part of what has been described as the “terror-free Türkiye initiative.”

The DEM Party delegation, comprising lawmakers Pervin Buldan, Sırrı Süreyya Önder, and veteran Kurdish politician Ahmet Türk, is expected to meet Öcalan later this week, according to party spokesperson Ayşegül Doğan.

“We are expecting the historic call from Öcalan,” Doğan told reporters. “We are on the cusp of a new life.”

The initiative was introduced last year by Devlet Bahçeli, the leader of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and a key ally of the government. Although Bahçeli has consistently opposed any concessions to the PKK, he suggested that Öcalan could be considered for parole if he denounced violence and dismantled the group. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has also backed the initiative, describing it as a “historic window of opportunity.”

Öcalan has met with DEM Party lawmakers twice in recent months, relaying messages of willingness to contribute to the initiative.

"Reinforcing the Turkish-Kurdish brotherhood is a historic responsibility and is a matter of importance and emergency for all peoples," Öcalan said in one of his first statements, as quoted by the DEM Party.

The PKK has waged an insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984, initially seeking to establish an independent Kurdish entity in the country’s southeast. The conflict, which has extended beyond Türkiye’s borders into Iraq and Syria, has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths.

Öcalan has urged all political factions in Türkiye to act beyond “narrow calculations” and to contribute “constructively” to ensure the initiative’s success. He also stated that Parliament would be “undoubtedly one of the most important grounds for 'this contribution.’”

Turkish authorities reject any association between the Kurdish population and the PKK, arguing that such a linkage serves the group’s agenda and misrepresents the Kurdish community’s role in the country.

A previous peace process collapsed in 2015 when the PKK resumed hostilities during negotiations. The group continues to maintain a presence in Iraq’s Sinjar and Makhmour regions, as well as in Sulaymaniyah, a situation Ankara has repeatedly condemned.

By Aghakazim Guliyev