A protester holding a photo of PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan during a demonstration in Diyarbakir, Turkey, on Feb. 27, 2025. (Credit: Sertac Kayar/Reuters)
The Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) announced on Saturday a cease-fire with Turkey after its leader and founder Abdullah Öcalan had announced the armed party's dissolution.
"In order to pave the way for the implementation of Apo's [uncle, in Kurdish] call for peace and a democratic society, we declare a cease-fire starting today," announced the PKK executive committee in a message published by the ANF agency, close to the armed party.
"WE AGREE WITH THE CONTENT OF THE CALL AS IT IS, AND WE DECLARE THAT WE WILL RESPECT AND IMPLEMENT IT," the PKK added in capital letters.
The PKK demands freedom for its founder, imprisoned for 26 years in Istanbul, who on Thursday called for the PKK to dissolve and lay down arms.
"The leader Abdullah Öcalan must be able to live and work in complete physical freedom and establish unhindered relations with whomever he wants, including his friends," the PKK asserts, concluding again in capital letters: "THE CALL [of Öcalan] IS NOT AN END BUT A NEW BEGINNING."
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