Imrali, Turkey – In a pivotal moment that could reshape Middle Eastern politics, the leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), Abdullah Öcalan, officially declared the end of the armed struggle and the dissolution of the party on Tuesday. He also announced the success of the first phase of the peace process and the transition to a “phase of democratic integration.”
“Farewell to Arms” declaration
This historic announcement came after a lengthy three-hour meeting at Imrali Prison between Öcalan and a delegation from the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM). Delegation member Mithat Sancar conveyed Öcalan’s message, in which he affirmed that the decision to dissolve the organization and lay down arms was a personal “strategic decision,” thus ending decades of armed conflict. Sancar told the media, “Öcalan announced the end of the first phase, the essence of which was the dissolution of the party and the laying down of arms. He described this meeting as the beginning of democratic integration, where the focus from now on will be on political and social means of joint action.”
Regional roadmap: Syria and the “March 10 Agreement”
Öcalan’s message was not limited to domestic issues but extended to the Syrian conflict. In this context, he identified the March 10, 2016 agreement as a fundamental framework for negotiations in Syria and Rojava. Öcalan praised the role of Kurdish forces in returning to the negotiating table. He also specifically mentioned the roles of President Masoud Barzani and Bafel Talabani in managing the crisis.
The Kurds in the New World Order
The delegation highlighted the geopolitical shifts, considering the Kurdish presence (represented by Mazloum Abdi and Ilham Ahmed) at the Munich Security Conference as a joint diplomatic actor with the Syrian delegation, a testament to the “new reality” emerging 110 years after the Sykes-Picot Agreement. Sinjar noted that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s speech in Munich clearly signaled Washington’s recognition of the Kurds’ role in the region’s future. He also emphasized that Öcalan was the key figure who rescued the situation from the brink of collapse and brought it to the negotiating table.
