PKK Announces Dissolution, Declares End to Armed Struggle

In a statement, the PKK confirmed that it convened a congress to discuss Öcalan’s directive. The organization, designated as a terrorist group by Turkey, the U.S., and the EU, stated that it has officially ceased its activities and terminated its "armed struggle."

Öcalan, who has been serving a life sentence on İmralı Island since 1999, urged the PKK to disarm, marking a significant shift in the group’s decades-long conflict with Turkey. The congress, held in response to his call, deliberated on the organization’s future before announcing its dissolution.

PKK held the congress from May 5 to 7.

Decisions of "historic importance" were taken during the gathering and details would be made public "very soon," the organization was quoted as saying in a written statement circulated by outlets on May 9.

"You can and will receive good news at any moment," President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said.

"We are following the work without leaving the slightest gap in a manner befitting the seriousness of the state."

He said intelligence and security units were handling the process with utmost sensitivity.

The congress marks the latest in a string of political moves since increased contact with Öcalan began in late 2024.

Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) lawmaker Ömer Öcalan was allowed to visit his uncle on the İmralı prison island off Istanbul in last October — the first such visit in nearly four years.

The visit followed a call by Bahçeli for Öcalan to address the parliament, conditional on the PKK’s dissolution.

Subsequent visits by senior DEM Party figures Sırrı Süreyya Önder and Pervin Buldan to the prison took place since then. A PKK ceasefire was announced on March 1 in line with Öcalan’s call.

Efforts to advance the process included a key meeting between the İmralı delegation and Erdoğan on April 10. However, momentum appeared to stall following Önder’s death on May 3 after suffering a heart attack.

Source: HDN