Thu Feb 27 15:49:23 UTC 2025: **Jailed Kurdish Leader Expected to Announce End to Decades-Long Conflict**

Istanbul, Turkey – February 27, 2025 – Jailed leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), Abdullah Ocalan, is expected to issue a statement today calling for an end to the decades-long conflict between Kurdish groups and the Turkish state. A delegation from the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM) met with Ocalan on Imrali prison island earlier today and will deliver his message at a 5:00 pm Istanbul press conference.

Ocalan’s potential declaration follows an olive branch offered by Ankara aimed at ending the insurgency that has claimed tens of thousands of lives. High hopes for a landmark peace call led to large crowds gathering in Kurdish-majority areas, although planned public viewings of the announcement were ultimately cancelled due to Turkish authorities’ disapproval. The DEM and PKK had initially hoped for a video message, but this was denied by the Turkish government.

While Ocalan is widely anticipated to urge his followers to lay down their arms and pursue a political solution, the impact on PKK fighters based in northern Iraq and Syria remains uncertain. The situation is further complicated by ongoing conflicts in Syria involving the US-backed Syrian Defence Forces (SDF), in which the PKK is involved, and Turkish-backed groups.

This potential breakthrough follows several attempts at peace talks since Ocalan’s imprisonment in 1999. The last round of talks collapsed in 2015, but renewed efforts began in October 2024 with a surprise peace gesture from hardline nationalist MHP leader Devlet Bahceli, endorsed by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Despite recent government crackdowns on opposition groups, including the arrest of hundreds and the removal of elected DEM mayors, many hope Ocalan’s message will lead to political progress and concessions for the Kurdish population, comprising roughly 20 percent of Turkey’s 85 million people.

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