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Salih Muslim, a leading figure in the Rojava Revolution, spoke to 91������̳’s Peter Boyle about the significance for the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (popularly called Rojava) of imprisoned Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan’s February 27 call for the disarmament and dissolution of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). 

Muslim is a member of the Presidential Council of the Democratic Union Party.

Öcalan’s statement is reproduced from below the interview.

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You have hailed Mr Öcalan’s statement as an “historic call” that puts the ball in the Turkish state’s court, and you have said that his freedom is “essential for this historic step to progress”. But how does this impact Rojava? Does Öcalan’s call for disarmament only refer to the PKK and its armed wing or does it also apply to Kurdish and Kurdish-led freedom organisations in other parts of Kurdistan, such as in Rojava?

The disarmament is only for the PKK and organisations related to the PKK that are holding arms, inside and outside Turkey, but not the organisations of other political parties in Rojava.

Actually, we have nothing to do with the PKK disarmament because the side we have to deal with is the regime in Damascus. We have our discussions with and make our calls on the Damascus regime, not Turkey.

But of course it will affect us also if [Turkey] agrees to stop directing the Damascus regime against us.

How does this announcement impact on the negotiations with the Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) regime in Damascus?

That depends on the HTS. If they don’t take the directions from Turkey, then it will be okay. If we just negotiate among the Syrian people, between the different Syrian parties and the SDF [Syrian Democratic Forces], the impact could be positive.

What impact will this historic development have on the critical battle for Tishrin Dam in northern Syria?

The war is still going on in Tishrin Dam and Qereqozak and Turkey is directly involved in it by using drones, by shelling and by bombing with F-16 [United States-supplied warplanes]. They should stop these attacks. If they don’t, it will not help the situation in Syria.

If these attacks continue, we have no other choice but to defend ourselves.

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Statement by Abdullah Öcalan

The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) was born in the 20th century, the most violent century in history. The political and ideological landscape in which the PKK emerged was shaped by two World Wars, real existing socialism and the Cold War. The denial of the Kurdish reality, especially regarding freedom of expression and restrictions on liberties, created the foundation for its emergence.

The PKK’s theory, program, strategy and tactics were heavily influenced by the ideological and strategic framework of 20th-century real socialism. However, the collapse of real socialism in the 1990s due to internal and external factors, the gradual acceptance of identity policies and developments in freedom of thought led to the PKK gradually losing its original meaning and beginning to stagnate. Like many other historical movements, it has now reached the end of its life cycle and therefore needs to be dissolved.

For over a millennium, Turks and Kurds have seen the need to remain in an alliance, with the desire to survive and resist hegemonic powers being the dominant driving force. This alliance was built on mutual voluntarism in order to maintain their existence.

However, for the past 200 years, capitalist modernity has sought to undermine this alliance. The socio-political forces affected by this transformation have contributed to its deterioration, particularly through the unilateral interpretations imposed by the [Turkish] Republic. The fundamental task today is to restore and reorganise this historic relationship in a spirit of fraternity and unity, without neglecting shared beliefs and values.

The need for a democratic society is inevitable. The PKK, which is the longest and most comprehensive insurgency in the history of the Republic, found support due to the closure of democratic political channels.

Yet, the solutions proposed by the PKK in its various forms — whether through nation-states, federal unions, administrative autonomy or purely cultural solutions — cannot adequately address the deep-rooted historical and social realities of this region as a necessary result of their extreme nationalist drift.

Respect for identities, the right to free expression and the ability to organise democratically — allowing every segment of society to shape its own socio-economic and political structures — can only be realised through the existence of a democratic society and political space.

The second century of the [Turkish] Republic can only achieve unity and permanence if it is crowned with democracy. There is no viable alternative to democracy as a means of governance and societal organisation. There cannot be another way. Democratic reconciliation is the fundamental principle that must guide this process. Accordingly, the language of peace and democratic co-existence must be cultivated in alignment with this reality.

In light of the current atmosphere shaped by the call made by [Nationalist Movement Party politician] Devlet Bahçeli, the will expressed by the President [Tayyip Recep Erdoğan] and the positive approaches of other political parties towards this call, I am making a call for disarmament and assuming its historic responsibility.

Just as every contemporary organisation and party whose existence has not been forcibly ended would voluntarily do, gather your congress and take the decision to integrate into the state and society: all groups must lay down their arms and the PKK must dissolve itself.

Undoubtedly, the laying down of arms and the dissolution of the PKK in practice require the recognition of democratic politics and a legal framework.

I extend my greetings to all those who believe in co-existence and who heed my call.

— Abdullah Öcalan. (February 27, 2025)