PKK declares cease-fire after Öcalan's call to end 40 years of terror
The terrorist group PKK announced a cease-fire on Saturday, saying that they have accepted imprisoned ringleader Abdullah Öcalan's call for disarmament and dissolution.
In a statement, the terrorist PKK’s "leadership" cadres in Qandil declared that the group would comply with the call made by its imprisoned leader Öcalan.
A cease-fire is declared effective immediately, according to the statement.
"We fully support the content of Öcalan's call and affirm our commitment to adhering to and implementing its requirements on our end. However, we emphasize that for success, there must also be a suitable legal and democratic political framework," the statement read.
"None of our forces will engage in armed actions unless attacked," it added
The PKK also said it was ready to convene a party congress, as instructed by Öcalan, and demanded a "secure environment" and attendance of Öcalan, who's serving a life sentence in prison, to personally lead the congress "to guarantee its success."
"Abdullah Öcalan must be granted the conditions to live and work in physical freedom, with unrestricted access to meet with whomever he wishes, including his colleagues. We hope that the relevant state institutions will fulfill these requirements," the PKK statement added.
Jailed PKK ringleader Öcalan on Thursday called for the dissolution of all groups under PKK, urging an end to its terror campaign spanning over 40 years, which claimed at least 40,000 lives.
The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the U.S., and EU.
Ankara has shifted to the wait-and-see stage in the terror-free Türkiye initiative after the jailed leader of the PKK terrorist group called for it to dissolve, saying that it should either heed disarmament calls or face total annihilation.
The much-anticipated call is viewed as Türkiye’s success to put an end to decades of campaign of violence. The country is now holding its breath to see whether the group would obey Öcalan’s call. A rejection will likely be followed by more counterterrorism operations by security forces in Türkiye, as well as beyond borders to stamp out the PKK threat.
Edited By Nurbanu Tanrıkulu Kızıl for DailySabah
