Revolutionary socialists on the PKK declaration in Turkey

Statement by the Revolutionary Socialist Workers Party (DSİP), a member of the International Socialist Tendency (IST), regarding the new peace process in Turkey

 

Following its congress on May 5–7, the PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party) released its final declaration and announced its decision to dissolve the organization. A 50-year-long resistance has now evolved into an entirely new phase.

 

From the very beginning of the peace negotiations, which began in October 2024, we observed that global turbulence—especially in the Middle East and Syria—was a decisive factor shaping the process. We argued that this moment could mark a leap into a new phase in which military methods would be entirely set aside.

 

Statements in October 2024 by Bahçeli (leader of the MHP – Nationalist Movement Party) and later by Erdoğan (President and leader of the AKP, the ruling party), along with the public reading of Abdullah Öcalan’s message in February, all indicated that both the Kurdish movement and the Turkish state anticipated serious instability in the region. They foresaw that the developments in Syria could have significant repercussions for Turkey, potentially triggering a series of political and social fault lines. A new peace process was initiated around this foresight.

 

Now, with the organization’s decision to dissolve itself, the Kurdish question will move to a completely different arena: the field of political struggle.

 

There are no more excuses.

 

The judicial system that equates every political or justice-oriented struggle with PKK affiliation must be reformed immediately.

 

The oppressive climate that seeks to criminalize every form of social justice struggle as terrorism must be dismantled.

 

Those who inflate nationalist propaganda under the guise of combating terrorism will no longer be credible.

 

The dissolution of the PKK does not mean that the Kurdish people have abandoned their decades-long struggle for basic rights. Statements by Pervin Buldan (a Kurdish MP and former delegate in talks with Öcalan) and DEM Party Co-Chair Tuncer Bakırhan show how hopeful they are about recent developments. The Kurdish people have repeatedly extended their hand for peace—and they are doing so again.

 

That hand has remained outstretched for a long time. Today, it seeks others in western Turkey to grasp it.

 

The PKK’s recent decision clearly demonstrates the Kurdish people’s determination for peace. In this statement, we also commemorate our comrade Sırrı Süreyya Önder, who made immense contributions to the struggle for peace, justice, and equality until his death. He will be sorely missed.

 

While the dissolution of the organization is the most critical step so far in this new process, whether it leads to peace will depend on a series of urgent legal and political reforms that meet the Kurdish people’s demands.

 

The state must take steps to guarantee the political and civil rights of former members of the dissolved organization.

 

Moreover, the state must rapidly establish a secure and dignified communication channel for Abdullah Öcalan to engage in dialogue with representatives of the Kurdish movement—an act that would signal a commitment to democratic politics.

 

Kurdish individuals living in camps in various Iraqi cities must be allowed to return to Turkey under legal and economic guarantees.

 

The most important step, however, is the full recognition and constitutional guarantee of the Kurdish people’s basic rights in every domain—rights whose absence lies at the root of the Kurdish question.

 

Now is not the time for skepticism about the peace process. Now is the time to stand with the Kurdish people in their struggle for rights and to build solidarity toward a lasting peace.

 

Now is the time for peace.

 

Now more clearly than ever, we must emphasize that the Kurdish people are the most important allies of the working class and all oppressed people fighting in western Turkey. It is evident that the peace process can help overcome century-old ideological barriers to a united workers’ struggle.

 

Those who approach this process with suspicion belong in the dustbin of history. Now is the time to look forward.

 

Neither democracy nor peace will materialize on their own. Unlike those who say “there can be no peace without democracy” but offer no support to lighten the burden the Kurdish people have taken on in this new process, we will ensure that each step forward brings us closer to lasting peace. This will also help expand the space for democratic and social struggles across the board.

 

Let us embrace and carry this peace process forward! Let us treat it as a collective struggle in which the freedom of the Kurdish people and all the oppressed peoples of the region will be built.

 

Long live peace!

 

Long live the equality of peoples!

 

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