Kurdish leader Ocalan told the PKK to disband, it did: Here’s what to know

The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) says it is disbanding aft much than 40 years of equipped conflict against the Turkish state.

The announcement came aft the PKK held its legislature successful bluish Iraq connected Friday, astir 2 months aft its imprisoned founder, Abdullah Ocalan, besides known arsenic “Appo”, called connected the radical to disarm successful February.

For astir of its history, the PKK has been labelled a violent radical by Turkiye, the European Union and the United States. It fought for Kurdish autonomy for years, a combat that has been declared implicit now.

This is each you request to cognize astir wherefore Ocalan and the PKK person fixed up their equipped struggle.

Who is Abdullah Ocalan?

Ocalan was calved to a mediocre Kurdish farming household connected April 4, 1948, successful Omerli, Sanliurfa, a Kurdish-majority portion of Turkiye.

He moved to Ankara to survey governmental subject astatine the assemblage there, wherever helium became politically active; driven, biographers say, by the consciousness of marginalisation that galore Kurds successful Turkiye felt.

By the mid-1970s, helium was advocating for Kurdish nationalism and went connected to recovered the PKK successful 1978.

Six years later, the radical launched a separatist rebellion against Turkiye nether his command.

Ocalan had implicit regularisation implicit the PKK and worked to stamp retired rival Kurdish groups, monopolising the conflict for Kurdish liberation, according to Blood and Belief: The PKK and the Kurdish Fight for Independence, by Aliza Marcus.

At the time, Kurds were denied the close to talk their language, springiness their children Kurdish names oregon amusement immoderate look of nationalism.

Despite Ocalan’s authoritarian rule, his charisma and positioning arsenic a champion of Kurdish rights led astir Kurds crossed Turkiye to emotion and respect him, calling him “Appo”, which means Uncle.

What was the equipped rebellion like?

Violent.

More than 40,000 radical died betwixt 1984 and 2024, with thousands of Kurds fleeing the unit successful southeastern Turkiye into cities further north.

Throughout the 1980s and 90s, Ocalan led operations from neighbouring Syria, which was a root of tensions betwixt the then-Assad authorities and Turkiye.

The PKK resorted to brutal tactics opening successful the precocious 1980s and aboriginal 90s. According to a study by the European Council connected Foreign Relations from 2007, the group, nether Ocalan, kidnapped overseas tourists, adopted termination bombing operations and attacked Turkish diplomatic offices successful Europe.

Perhaps adjacent worse, the PKK would repress Kurdish civilians who did not assistance the radical successful its guerrilla warfare.

Supporters of pro-Kurdish DEM Party question flags with portraits of jailed PKK person Abdullah Ocalan astatine a rally for Newroz successful Istanbul, Turkiye, March 17, 2024 [Umit Bektas/Reuters]

Did Ocalan alteration his views?

Eventually, much than a decennary aft helium was caught.

In 1998, Ocalan was forced to fly Syria owed to the menace of a Turkish incursion to seizure him. A twelvemonth later, Turkish agents arrested him connected a level successful Nairobi, Kenya, acknowledgment to intel received from the US.

He was brought backmost to Turkiye and handed the decease penalty, yet his condemnation was changed to beingness successful situation aft Turkiye abolished superior punishment successful 2004 successful a bid to go a subordinate of the EU.

By 2013, Ocalan changed his stance connected separatism and began lobbying for broad Kurdish rights and greater determination autonomy successful Turkiye, saying he no longer believed successful the effectiveness of equipped rebellion.

This extremist displacement led to the commencement of a shaky bid process betwixt the PKK and the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party), headed by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The bid process led to immoderate freedoms for Kurds, yet warring erupted betwixt the authorities and the PKK successful 2015 owed successful portion to fears that the enactment was trying to make a Kurdish statelet successful neighbouring Syria during its civilian war.

At the time, galore Kurds from confederate Turkiye had near for Syria to assistance the Kurds determination combat against ISIL (ISIS).

In 2015, the AK Party had besides formed a caller confederation with the far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), which was staunchly opposed to immoderate bid process involving the PKK.

What’s antithetic astir this bid process?

In announcing its disarmament, the PKK said it has “completed its humanities mission” by “breaking the argumentation of denial and annihilation of our radical and bringing the Kurdish contented to a constituent wherever solving it tin hap done antiauthoritarian politics”.

However, analysts reason that determination are different reasons down the decision.

The PKK and its Kurdish allies successful the portion are much susceptible than earlier owed to caller developments, according to Sinan Ulgen, an adept connected Turkiye and elder chap astatine Carnegie Europe successful Brussels.

“The crushed the PKK gave up its equipped conflict has to bash with the alteration successful the planetary context,” Ulgen explained.

US President Donald Trump does not spot Syria arsenic a “strategic focal point” for overseas argumentation and is, therefore, improbable to support supporting Kurdish equipped groups successful the state arsenic it had during the combat against ISIL, helium explained.

In addition, the caller authorities successful Syria is connected bully presumption with Turkiye, dissimilar nether the now-overthrown Assad regime.

This caller narration could importantly wounded the quality of the PKK and its Syrian offshoot, the Democratic Union Party (PYD), to run on the Syria-Turkiye border.

MHP person Devlet Bahceli, left, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan greet supporters astatine a rally portion campaigning for the statesmanlike predetermination connected May 7, 2023, successful Istanbul [Burak Kara/Getty Images]

Will Turkiye travel through?

The governmental clime seems ripe for that.

Main governmental parties, specified arsenic the AK Party and its rival Republican People’s Party (CHP), person vocally oregon tacitly supported a caller bid process.

But it was the MHP, agelong opposed to immoderate overtures to the Kurds, that created the model for a caller bid process.

In April 2024, MHP person Devlet Bahceli invited Ocalan to renounce “terrorism” successful beforehand of Turkiye’s parliament successful speech for imaginable parole.

“The information it was Bahceli … was benignant of unbelievable,” said Sinem Adar, an adept connected Turkiye with the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWB).

Bahceli’s alteration of bosom is astir apt to assistance his conjugation partner, Erdogan, tally successful and triumph the adjacent nationalist election, experts told Al Jazeera.

Masked Kurdish youths clasp a poster of jailed PKK person Abdullah Ocalan during Newroz celebrations connected March 21, 2025 successful Diyarbakir, Turkiye [Sedat Suna/Getty Images]

Under the constitution, Erdogan cannot tally for different word unless an aboriginal predetermination is called, which needs 360 retired of 600 votes successful parliament.

To adhd the votes of Kurdish delegates from the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM) to the MHP-AK Party alliance’s votes, “[Erdogan] needs to broaden his governmental enactment basal successful parliament implicit and supra the existent ruling alliance”, Carnegie’s Ulgen told Al Jazeera.

What happens to Ocalan now?

It is unclear if helium volition beryllium released, but his situation conditions could importantly improve, said Ulgen.

He said the authorities would similar to gradually summation Ocalan’s freedoms, truthful it tin gauge the reactions of his enactment basal and the broader public.

Many radical successful Turkiye inactive presumption Ocalan arsenic a “terrorist” and blasted him for a struggle that has taken the lives of truthful many.

“I deliberation the authorities wants to trial the waters earlier allowing Ocalan to spell free,” Ulgen told Al Jazeera.