The jailed leader of the PKK terrorist group has finally issued his historic call for the group to lay down its arms, marking a turning point in the terror-free Türkiye initiative launched last year by a government ally.

“As any contemporary community or party that has not been forcibly dissolved would voluntarily do, I urge you to convene your congress, integrate with the state and society, and make a decision: all groups must lay down their arms, and the PKK must dissolve itself,” PKK head Abdullah Öcalan said.

The statement was read on Thursday at a news conference in Istanbul by a delegation from the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), who visited Öcalan at the island prison where he is held off the coast of Istanbul.

The delegation included lawmakers from the party, known for its links to the terrorist group.

The jailed terrorist leader said the dissolution of the group was necessary, as he said it emerged in the 20th century, a period marked by “intense violence, two world wars, the rise and fall of real socialism, the Cold War and the denial of Kurdish identity.”

He claimed that the terrorist group was shaped by restrictions on freedoms, particularly freedom of expression.

“The collapse of real socialism in the 1990s due to internal reasons, the erosion of identity denial in the country, and advancements in freedom of expression have led to the PKK’s loss of meaning and excessive repetition. Therefore, like its counterparts, it has reached the end of its lifespan, making its dissolution necessary.”

The jailed terrorist leader stated that the second century of the republic must be built on democracy for lasting peace and unity, rejecting any alternative paths outside democratic consensus.