Turkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Abdullah Ocalan’s appeal for his outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) to disband and disarm was a “historic opportunity” as senior members of the president’s party demanded the dissolution of PKK affiliates in Iraq and Syria.
“We have a historic opportunity to advance towards the objective of destroying the wall of terror”, Erdogan said on Friday, a day after the jailed PKK founder’s statement.
Erdogan said Turkiye would “keep a close watch” to make sure the talks to end the rebellion were “brought to a successful conclusion”, warning against any “provocations”.
“When the pressure of terrorism and arms is eliminated, the space for politics in democracy will naturally expand,” Erdogan said.
Earlier on Friday, Omer Celik, the spokesperson for Erdogan’s governing AK Party, said all groups associated with the PKK, including those outside of Turkiye, should comply with the call.
“Regardless of whether they are called PKK, YPG or PYD, all extensions of the terrorist organisation must dissolve themselves,” Celik said, about the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units and its political wing.
In a momentous message from prison, Ocalan called on the PKK to convene a congress and take the decision to lay down arms and dissolve itself. The message, relayed by Turkiye’s pro-Kurdish DEM Party officials, was part of a new initiative to end a decades-long war that has claimed tens of thousands of lives.
The PKK, which is considered a terrorist organisation by Ankara and its Western allies, has led a decades-long rebellion against the Turkish state.
The PKK’s leadership, which is based in northern Iraq, has not yet responded to Ocalan’s call.
“We mean the complete liquidation of the organisation and its elements in Iraq and Syria.”
‘Ball is in the government’s court’
In Syria, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF – which includes the YPG – welcomed Ocalan’s call for disarmament as an “opportunity” to build peace and a key to opening correct and constructive relations in the region.
Mazloum Abdi, the commander of the SDF, said that Ocalan’s call concerned the PKK and had “no connection to our forces.”
Meanwhile, the DEM Party said it wants immediate steps towards democratisation from Erdogan’s government.
