ANKARA, May 12. /TASS/. The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), designated a terrorist group by Turkey, has decided to dissolve itself and transition to democratic politics.
Following a congress, the PKK urged Turkey to provide legal and political guarantees to its jailed leader Abdullah Ocalan, the Kurdish Rudaw television reported.
The extraordinary congress of the PKK concluded that the group had "carried the Kurdish issue to a stage where it can be solved by democratic and political means and that the PKK has fulfilled its historical mission." The decision to disband the PKK and end armed fighting lays a solid basis for lasting peace, the party’s declaration reads.
According to it, for its leader Ocalan to oversee the process, his right to democratic politics should be upheld, and he should be granted full legal guarantees. "At this stage, it is important that Turkey’s parliament assume its historical role," the PKK added. "We call on the democratic community, especially our friends leading the international movement for freedom, to boost global solidarity as part of modern democratic theory," the TV channel quoted the PKK’s declaration as reading.
Also, participants in the congress "called on international players to realize their responsibility for a centuries-old genocide policy against the [Kurdish] people" and make a meaningful contribution to the democratic process. For security reasons, the PKK convened in two locations, with 232 delegates taking part in the congress.
The PKK dissolved after 47 years of military confrontation with Turkey that left hundreds of Kurds and Turks dead.
In late February, Ocalan, who is serving a life sentence, called on all PKK-affiliated formations to lay down their arms and end the armed confrontation with Ankara, and on the PKK itself to disband. The PKK responded by declaring an immediate truce on March 1, expressing its readiness to convene a congress.
There is no information regarding whether the group’s formations in Syria will endorse the congress decisions.