Jailed PKK founder Abdullah Ocalan calls on the group to lay down arms and dissolve
Abdullah Ocalan, the jailed founder of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), called on 27 February 2025 for the group to lay down its arms and dissolve itself, in a letter read out in Istanbul by pro-Kurdish DEM Party politicians.
Summary
On 27 February 2025, a letter from Abdullah Ocalan, the 75-year-old founder of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), was read out in Istanbul by DEM Party politicians Ahmet Turk and Pervin Buldan after a delegation met him on Imrali island in the Sea of Marmara, where he has been imprisoned since 1999. Ocalan said all groups must lay down their arms and asked the PKK to convene a congress and dissolve itself. The PKK, banned as a terrorist group by Turkiye, the EU, the UK and the US, has waged an insurgency against the Turkish state for about four decades. The move followed a peace initiative started in October 2024 by Devlet Bahceli, President Erdogan's nationalist ally.
Key facts
- Date
- 27 February 2025, letter read in Istanbul
- By
- Abdullah Ocalan, PKK founder
- Prison
- Imrali island, Sea of Marmara (since 1999)
- Read out by
- DEM Party's Ahmet Turk and Pervin Buldan
- Call
- Lay down arms; PKK to convene a congress and dissolve
Practice MCQs 3 questions
Abdullah Ocalan, who on 27 February 2025 called on his group to lay down arms and dissolve, is the founder of which organisation?
Show answer
Correct answer: B — Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK)
Abdullah Ocalan is the jailed founder of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which he asked to lay down arms and dissolve itself.
On which island has PKK founder Abdullah Ocalan been imprisoned since 1999?
Show answer
Correct answer: C — Imrali
Ocalan has been held on Imrali island in the Sea of Marmara since 1999; a DEM Party delegation met him there before his letter was read out on 27 February 2025.
Members of which Turkish political party read out Abdullah Ocalan's call for the PKK to disarm in Istanbul on 27 February 2025?
Show answer
Correct answer: D — DEM Party
The letter was read out by DEM Party politicians Ahmet Turk and Pervin Buldan after their visit to Imrali island.