Kurdish Leader Pushes for Peace Laws After Historic Weapons Call

The jailed leader of Turkey's Kurdistan Workers' Party has issued a new appeal for legislation to support peace efforts with the Turkish government. This follows his historic call last year for the militant group to disarm after decades of conflict.

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — The jailed leader of Turkey’s Kurdistan Workers’ Party issued a fresh appeal Friday for legislative action to support peace negotiations with Ankara following their prolonged armed conflict.

Abdullah Ocalan’s message comes one year after his groundbreaking appeal for the PKK to abandon armed resistance and disband the organization.

His most recent statement was delivered in Turkey’s parliament by legislator Pervin Buldan, a senior figure in the nation’s pro-Kurdish political party. The message arrived weeks following a parliamentary committee’s recommendation of various reforms to bolster peace negotiations, including provisions to help former PKK fighters who reject violence reintegrate into society.

“The transition to democratic integration necessitates laws of peace,” read Ocalan’s message.

“We aim to close the era of politics based on violence and to open a process based on a democratic society and the rule of law,” Buldan stated while reading the communication.

“We invite all segments of society to create opportunities and take responsibility in this direction,” the message continued.

Since 1984, the PKK has conducted an armed rebellion against Turkey that has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and extended into neighboring Iraq and Syria. Turkey, the United States, and the European Union all classify the organization as a terrorist group.

Following Ocalan’s February 27, 2025 declaration, the PKK announced in May its intention to surrender weapons and dissolve, bringing more than four decades of fighting to an end.

The organization subsequently conducted a ceremonial disarmament event in northern Iraq, where its militants had maintained strongholds throughout the insurgency. They destroyed numerous weapons in a symbolic burning ceremony before beginning to relocate remaining fighters from Turkey into Iraq.

This month, a bipartisan parliamentary committee proposed multiple reforms, including reintegration programs for PKK members who abandon violence. The committee emphasized that legal measures should depend on security agencies confirming the group has surrendered its arsenal.

The committee’s additional recommendations included expanding free speech protections, releasing elderly or ill detainees, and preventing the prosecution of non-violent activities under terrorism statutes.

Friday also saw the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party, known as DEM, advocate for implementing these legal changes.

“The state and the executive branch are obligated to move this process forward with the seriousness and determination that matches Mr. Ocalan’s pace for a solution,” stated DEM party co-chairman Tuncer Bakirhan. “The responsibility now rests with the state and the executive branch.”

The 76-year-old Ocalan has remained incarcerated on Imrali island near Istanbul since 1999 following his treason conviction. Despite his imprisonment, he maintains considerable sway over PKK operations. The organization originally pursued Kurdish independence but later modified its goals to seek autonomy and enhanced rights within Turkey.