 to immediately announce the date of a congress it will convene to declare that it is laying down its arms, in line with a recent call from the group’s jailed leader, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported.){kind=link}
A spokesperson for the Turkish Defense Ministry has called on the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) to immediately announce the date of a congress it will convene to declare that it is laying down its arms, in line with a recent call from the group’s jailed leader, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported.
“The terrorist organization, along with all its branches, should immediately announce the date it will end its activities, disband itself, lay down its arms unconditionally and hand them over,” Rear Adm. Zeki Aktürk, spokesperson for the ministry, told reporters at a weekly press briefing on Thursday.
In a landmark move last month, jailed PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan called on his militants to disarm and disband, ending a decades-long conflict that has claimed tens of thousands of lives.
In his historic written call Öcalan urged the PKK to hold a congress to formalize the decision.
Two days later, the PKK announced a ceasefire, saying it was ready to convene a congress but said “for this to happen, a suitable secure environment must be created,” insisting it would only succeed if Öcalan were to “personally direct and lead it.”
PKK co-leader Cemil Bayık told Kurdish television station Sterk TV last week that it was currently “impossible” for its leadership to safely meet to formally dissolve the group in line with Öcalan’s call.
“[Turkish] reconnaissance planes are flying overhead all the time. They are carrying out daily bombings, and they attack every day,” Bayık said.
“Holding a congress under these conditions is impossible and very dangerous.”
The PKK leadership is holed up in mountainous northern Iraq, where in recent years Turkish forces have staged multiple airstrikes targeting the group, designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey and its Western allies.
Despite the negotiations, there has been no indication that Turkish troops have stopped their operations against the PKK, with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan warning against any delaying tactics.
“If the promises given are not kept and an attempt is made to delay … we will continue our ongoing operations … until we eliminate the last terrorist,” Erdoğan said on March 1.
Many are hoping Öcalan’s call will ultimately result in concessions for the Kurds, who make up around 20 percent of Turkey’s 85 million population.