Öcalan requires 'legal recognition' for PKK dissolution in unofficial note

PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan noted that PKK's disarmament was conditional on the "recognition of democratic politics and legal dimension," stated DEM Party MP Sırrı Süreyya Önder as the İmralı delegation shared Öcalan's message urging PKK's dissolution.

Photo: Ferhat Yaşar (DUVAR)

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The expanded İmralı delegation of the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) on Feb. 27 shared a letter from PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan with the public. In the statement, read in both Kurdish and Turkish, Öcalan called on the PKK to lay down arms and dissolve itself, saying, “The historical responsibility is mine.”

After the statement was read, delegation member Sırrı Süreyya Önder shared a remark Öcalan made during their meeting with journalists.

According to Önder, Öcalan told the delegation, “Undoubtedly, the practical steps for disarmament and the dissolution of the PKK require the recognition of democratic politics and legal dimensions.”

The remark was not included in Öcalan's official message.