Ocalan called on the group he founded to lay down its arms and disband.
“All groups must lay down their arms and the PKK must dissolve itself,” he said. Ocalan’s call for “all groups” indicates that he likely means all PKK offshoots in Syria and Iran.
Since 2012, Syrian Kurds have been able to carve out a semi-autonomous region in northeast Syria, which they refer to as Rojava, meaning Western Kurdistan.
Turkey has repeatedly targeted the region, saying the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the official military wing of Rojava, is an offshoot of the PKK, an armed group that has been fighting the Turkish state since 1984. The SDF denies links to the PKK.
“there will be no need for weapons if attacks against the Kurds come to an end.”
“SDF officials interviewed by RIC say paths such as simply laying down their weapons are impossible due to the current threats facing northeast Syria - primarily attacks from Turkey and the Turkish-backed SNA.”
“Ocalan’s message concerns the PKK and has nothing to do with us in Syria.”
“there will be no justification for Turkey’s attacks on us in Syria”.
Local Kurdish media reports that attacks by Turkish-backed groups have so far not stopped, with shelling targeting the countryside surrounding the Kurdish-majority city of Kobani.
As far as today’s news say, PKK has declared a ceasefire - they won’t attack anyone unless attacked - and seems to be considering Öcalan’s advise.
Even if Syrian Kurds correctly note that it doesn’t have anything to do with them specifically, I think it indirectly has much to do with the fall of Bashar al Assad’s regime in Syria, and negotiations to put together a new form of Syria.
I imagine (I could be wrong) that Kurdish people might have concluded that:
They might have concluded that it benefits to negotiate for peace. One of Turkey’s foremost excuses for attacking Kurds has been the PKK. If the PKK agrees to dissolve, the excuse is gone and unless another excuse is found - maybe war will stop for a while.
Erdogan remains the same of course, but the geopolitical situation could be new for him too, since Trump could genuinely attempt to appease Russia and abandon Ukraine, while the rest of NATO could genuinely attempt to replace the United States and double its support for Ukraine. As a result, the Black Sea region could see changes in the balance of power.