Kurdish PKK Militants Heed Jailed Leader’s Call, Declare Ceasefire

The outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) militant group declared an immediate ceasefire, a news agency close to the group reported, heeding jailed leader Abdullah Ocalan's call for disarmament.

The decision could have far-reaching implications for the region, potentially ending a conflict that has claimed more than 40,000 lives since the PKK launched its armed insurgency in 1984. I Photo: Ifan Morgan Jones Wikimedia Commons

The move marks a major step toward ending a 40-year insurgency against the Turkish state, Reuters reported.

Last eek, Ocalan called on the PKK to lay down its arms and dissolve, a move supported by both President Tayyip Erdogan’s government and the opposition pro-Kurdish DEM party.

If successful, the decision could have far-reaching implications for the region, potentially ending a conflict that has claimed more than 40,000 lives since the PKK—now based in the mountains of northern Iraq—launched its armed insurgency in 1984.

It could also provide Erdogan with a domestic political boost and a historic opportunity to bring peace and economic development to southeast Turkey, which has been heavily affected by the conflict.

The PKK stated that it hoped Ankara would grant Ocalan, who has been held in near-total isolation since 1999, more freedoms so he could lead the disarmament process.

The group added that necessary political and democratic conditions must be established for the ceasefire to succeed.

"We, as the PKK, fully agree with the content of the call and state that, from our side, we will heed the necessities of the call and implement it," the group said in a statement, according to the Firat news agency.

"Beyond this, implementing measures such as laying down arms can only be realized under the practical leadership of Leader Apo," the group added, using its nickname for Ocalan. It also stated that it would halt all hostilities immediately unless attacked.