PKK militant group says it reached ‘historic’ decisions, without confirming disbandment

A picture of Abdullah Ocalan, the imprisoned leader of Turkiye's banned Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, is displayed inside a shop in the northern Syrian city of Qamishli that is controlled by the U.S.-backed and Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, Sunday, Jan. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)

ANKARA, Turkiye — A militant Kurdish group announced on Friday that it had made “historic” decisions during its long-awaited congress earlier this week. The group, however, stopped short of saying whether it had resolved to disband and disarm as part of a new peace initiative with Turkiye aimed at ending the four-decade insurgency.

The Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, held a congress in two locations in northern Iraq between May 5-7, according to a statement carried by the Firat News Agency, a media organization close to the banned group.

The PKK said the historic decisions taken during the congress would be shared with the public soon.

In February, the PKK’s jailed leader, Abdullah Ocalan, called on his group to convene a congress to dissolve itself and disarm to end the conflict that has claimed tens of thousands of lives since the 1980s.

The group, which is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkiye and most Western states, announced a ceasefire days later but had set conditions to disband, including the establishment of a legal mechanism for peace talks.

During the congress, statements by Ocalan outlining his “perspectives and proposals” were read, according to Firat news. Turkiye‘s Haberturk broadcaster said the congress convened in Suleymaniyah and Duhok, cities in northern Iraq where the PKK’s leadership is thought to be based.

Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Turkiye expects the PKK to respond “positively” to Ocalan’s call to dissolve but said an announcement was not imminent.

“It seems that we will have to wait a little longer to hear the organization’s response to this historic call,” he told Turkiye’s 24 news channel in an interview.

“This is not an easy decision for the organization,” he added, suggesting possible disagreements among factions within the PKK.

Earlier, Turkiye‘s pro-Kurdish party, DEM, which is involved in the peace effort, said the PKK could declare its decision “at any moment.”

“We, too, are awaiting this historic step, this historic decision,” DEM party spokeswoman Aysegul Dogan said.

In a later statement, the DEM party described the PKK’s congress as a turning point toward peace, and paid tribute to all lives lost during the conflict.

The party also said Turkiye‘s parliament and other institutions would have significant role to play toward peace and democratization.

“A new page is opening on the path to an honorable peace and a democratic solution,” the party said.

The statement added: “We believe that, following this historic turning point, all democratic political institutions -- especially the Grand National Assembly of Turkiye -- must take responsibility for solving the Kurdish issue and ensuring Turkiye‘s true democratization.”

The latest peace initiative was launched in October by Devlet Bahceli, a far-right Turkish politician who suggested that Ocalan, who is imprisoned on an island off Istanbul, could be granted parole if his group renounces violence and disbands.

The DEM party statement also honored Sirri Sureyya Onder, a party legislator who was a key figure in the latest effort of peace, and who died last week.

Onder and other DEM party officials visited Ocalan on Imrali island where he is serving a life sentence several times, as part of the peace effort.

Previous peace efforts between Turkiye and the group have ended in failure -- most recently in 2015.

By Suzan Fraser