ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkey’s pro-Kurdish DEM Party said on Friday it was only a matter of time before the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) announces it has convened its congress, a move seen as a key step in resolving the decades-long conflict.
The PKK declared a ceasefire in March following a historic call by its leader Abdullah Ocalan — who has been imprisoned since 1999 — for the group to lay down arms and to dissolve. This potentially paved the way for an end to 40 years of conflict between Kurdish militants and the Turkish state.
“We are all awaiting this historic decision with great seriousness and importance,” DEM Party spokesperson Aysegul Dogan told reporters after a meeting of the party’s executive board.
“It is only a matter of time before the PKK announces it has convened its congress. The announcement could come at any moment,” Dogan said.
Dogan said the PKK had previously responded to Ocalan’s call with a statement committing to fulfil its requirements, including a ceasefire declaration issued shortly after the appeal.
“This historic opportunity must be made permanent. Weapons must give way to dialogue,” she said, adding that the DEM party hoped for mutual steps toward lasting peace, adding that political and legal groundwork would be essential.
Ocalan, who has been serving a life sentence on an island prison since 1999, issued a statement through his lawyers on Feb. 27 calling for a revival of peace efforts.
The PKK, designated a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the United States and the European Union, has waged an insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984.
More than 40,000 people have been killed in the conflict, which has seen intermittent peace efforts over the years, most notably a ceasefire between 2013 and 2015 that ultimately collapsed.
(Reporting by Ece Toksabay and Huseyin Hayatsever; Editing by Jonathan Spicer)
Comments