KDPI spokesperson welcomes Ocalan's call for disarmament

Rudaw Net

02-03-2025

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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The main Iranian opposition group based in the Kurdistan Region on Saturday welcomed the call by Abdullah Ocalan, leader of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), for his group to disarm and pursue a democratic solution to the Kurdish issue with Ankara after nearly four-decades of conflict.
The spokesperson for the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI), Khalid Azizi, told Rudaw that Kurds across all four parts of Kurdistan are likely to follow a similar path as well.
Kurds believe that Greater Kurdistan is divided into four parts, which include Kurdistan Region in Iraq (Bashur), western Iran (Rojhelat), southeast Turkey (Bakur) and northeast Syria (Rojava).
'I believe that the Kurdish issue, across all parts of Kurdistan, will likely move in the same direction. The truth is that the Kurdish issue can no longer be ignored in Turkey, Iraq, Syria, or Iran,' Azizi explained.
A letter by Ocalan was made public on Thursday in which he called for the PKK to disarm and disband, offering a glimmer of hope for an end to the conflict between Turkey and the PKK, a war that has claimed over 40,000 lives.
'The KDPI believes that the best solution to the Kurdish issue across all four parts of Kurdistan is through peaceful means, dialogue, and negotiations, in which both sides [Turkey, PKK] unite to find a solution,' Azizi added.
However, Azizi pointed out that it may be too early to draw any conclusions about the outcomes of the PKK's disarmament, noting the significance of the increased attention the Kurdish issue has received from the Turkish parliament, media and non-Kurdish parties. 'The Kurdish issue cannot be ignored anymore,' Azizi stressed.
The KDPI official further explained the need for taking 'steps toward trust-building, developing mutual trust, and establishing a mechanism that ensures the [peace] process [between the PKK and Turkey] advances even amid challenges' remains to be a 'crucial factor' for the peace process in Turkey to reach a favorable conclusion.
Azizi also stressed the importance of Turkish authorities and the PKK working together to strengthen democracy and uphold it.
For its part, Iran's foreign ministry on Friday welcomed Ocalan's call for the PKK to lay down arms, describing it as 'an important step towards rejecting violence.'
Of note, Iran has also been long locked down in a conflict with exiled Kurdish opposition groups, which it, like Turkey, labels as terrorist organizations. The groups are the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI), Komala, the Free Life Party of Kurdistan (PJAK), and the Kurdistan Freedom Party (PAK).
These groups were previously based in the Kurdistan Region close to the border with Iran, but were moved away from the frontier following a 2023 security pact signed between Baghdad and Tehran.