PKK announces decision to lay down arms and dissolution
Announcing the decisions of the congress held between 5-7 May, the PKK declared that the organisational structure of the PKK was dissolved and the armed struggle was terminated. The declaration read: "The 12th Congress of the PKK has decided to dissolve the organisational structure of the PKK and to end the armed struggle method in order to be managed and carried out by Leader Apo and to end the activities carried out under the name of the PKK."
The PKK announced the decisions of its 12th Congress held between 5-7 May.
In a statement released on 9 May, it was noted that the congress held in parallel in two different locations, took "historical decisions were taken on the basis of Abdullah Öcalan's call" and that the outcomes would soon be shared with the public.
The PKK announced the final declaration of the 12th Congress. In the PKK's final declaration released to Fırat News Agency (ANF), it was stated:
“The process that began with Abdullah Öcalan’s statement on 27 February and his extensive work and various perspectives led to the successful completion of our 12th Party Congress held between 5 and 7 May.”
"ACTIVITIES UNDER THE NAME PKK HAVE BEEN TERMINATED"
The declaration stated that the congress was held simultaneously in two different locations due to security reasons and attended by 232 delegates. It was stated that:
"The 12th Congress of the PKK terminated the activities carried out in the name of the PKK by taking the decisions to dissolve the organisational structure of the PKK and to terminate the armed struggle method so that the practicalisation process would be managed and carried out by Leader Apo."
"THE DEEP STATE ELIMINATED TURGUT ÖZAL"
The declaration stated: "Under the conditions of the 1990s, Turgut Özal, President of the Republic of Turkey, sought to solve the Kurdish problem through politics” and continued:
“Leader Apo responded to this pursuit with the 17 March 1993 ceasefire, initiating a new process. However, the heavy influence of real socialism, the imposition of a gang-like mindset on our line of struggle, and the deep state's elimination of Turgut Özal and his team, followed by insistence on the policy of denial and destruction of the Kurds and the escalation of war, sabotaged this new process.”
"CURRENT DEVELOPMENTS IN THE MIDDLE EAST..."
In the declaration, criticising the Treaty of Lausanne and the 1924 Constitution, the following statements were made:
"Leader Apo adopted the perspective of the Democratic Republic of Turkey, in which the common homeland and the Kurdish-Turkish peoples are the founding elements, and the Democratic Nation understanding as the framework for the solution of the Kurdish question, taking as reference the period before the Treaty of Lausanne and the 1924 Constitution, when Kurdish-Turkish relations were problematised. The Kurdish revolts throughout the history of the Republic, the historical dialectic of Kurdish-Turkish relations of 1000 years and the 52-year struggle of the Leadership have shown that the Kurdish question can only be solved on the basis of a Common Homeland and Equal Citizenship. The current developments in the Middle East within the context of the Third World War make the reconfiguration of Kurdish-Turkish relations inevitable.”
The declaration stated:
"The legacy of our freedom history of struggle and resistance will develop more strongly through democratic politics with the decisions of the 12th Congress of the PKK, and the future of our peoples will develop on the basis of freedom and equality. Our poor and labouring peoples, all faith communities, women and youth, workers, peasants and all segments excluded from power will defend their rights in the process of peace and democratic society and develop a common life in a democratic and just environment."
REFERENCE TO PARLIAMENT
The declaration pointed to Parliament and political parties, making a call for ‘responsibility’:
"The decision of our congress to dissolve the PKK and end the armed struggle provides a strong basis for lasting peace and democratic solution. The implementation of these decisions requires Leader Apo to lead and direct the process, the recognition of the right to democratic politics and a solid legal guarantee. At this stage, it is important for the Grand National Assembly of Turkey to play its role with historical responsibility. Likewise, we call on all political parties represented in parliament, especially the government and the main opposition party, civil society organisations, religious and belief communities, democratic press organisations, opinion leaders, intellectuals, academics, artists, labour unions, women's and youth organisations, ecological movements to take responsibility and participate in the peace and democratic society process.
The struggle of the peoples, women and the oppressed will gain a new level if the left-socialist forces, revolutionary structures, organisations and personalities of Turkey embrace the Peace and Democratic Society process. This will mean achieving the goals of the great revolutionaries whose last words were 'Long Live the Brotherhood of the Turkish and Kurdish Peoples and Fully Independent Turkey!
With the Peace and Democratic Society process and Democratic Society Socialism, which represents a new stage in the struggle for socialism, the global democracy movement will develop and a just and equal world will emerge. On this basis, we call on the democratic public opinion, especially our friends who lead the Global Freedom Movement, to increase international solidarity within the framework of the theory of democratic modernity."
CALL TO INTERNATIONAL FORCES
The declaration also included a call to international powers: “We invite international powers not to obstruct the democratic solution and to make constructive contributions to the process.”
