Kurdish PKK militia declares ceasefire, heeding jailed leader’s call

The banned Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militia announced an immediate ceasefire on Saturday, according to a news agency linked to the group, responding to jailed leader Abdullah Ocalan’s appeal for disarmament, representing a significant move toward concluding a 40-year uprising against the Turkish government.

On Thursday, Ocalan urged the PKK to abandon its weapons and disband, a step that has received backing from President Tayyip Erdogan’s administration and the pro-Kurdish opposition DEM party.

If successful, this action could have far-reaching effects on the region, bringing an end to a conflict that has claimed over 40,000 lives since the PKK – currently located in the northern Iraq mountains – began its armed uprising in 1984.

The group stated in a release that it anticipated Ankara would free Ocalan, who has been in near complete isolation since 1999, allowing him to guide a disarmament process, emphasizing that the required political and democratic conditions must be created for the process to be effective.

“We, as the PKK, fully agree with the content of the call and state that, from our front, we will heed the necessities of the call and implement it,” the group said, according to the Firat news agency.

“Beyond this, issues like laying down arms being put into practice can only be realised under the practical leadership of Leader Apo,” the group said, using its nickname for Ocalan, adding it would halt all hostilities immediately unless attacked.

On Friday, the DEM party called on the government to make moves towards democratisation, stating that its reaction was crucial. The government stated it would not engage in negotiations with the PKK and insisted that all Kurdish armed groups, including those in Iraq and Syria, must surrender their arms.

While viewing Ocalan’s appeal positively, the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), considered by Ankara as a branch of the PKK, stated that it did not pertain to them.