Kurdish Leader Abdullah Öcalan Calls for PKK to Disband After Decades of Armed Conflict

The imprisoned founder of the PKK urges the group to lay down arms and shift the Kurdish struggle to political and legal avenues.

Abdullah Öcalan, the 75-year-old founder of the PKK, issued a historic call for the group to disband and abandon armed struggle after four decades of conflict with the Turkish state.
Öcalan's message, read by Kurdish lawmakers in Istanbul, emphasized his desire to transition the Kurdish movement from violence to political and legal engagement.
The Turkish government has recently eased Öcalan's isolation after 26 years of imprisonment, facilitating communication with Kurdish representatives.
While Öcalan's call has sparked celebrations in Kurdish-majority regions, uncertainty remains about how PKK fighters, particularly those in northern Iraq, will respond.
The Turkish government continues to target PKK-affiliated individuals and groups, maintaining pressure on Kurdish political movements and activists.