Öcalan message calls for “positive construction” phase one year after PKK dissolution appeal

By Bosphorus News Staff

A new message from imprisoned Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Öcalan was read publicly in Ankara on 27 February 2026, marking one year since his 27 February 2025 appeal for the PKK to convene a congress, disarm, and dissolve.

In the text, Öcalan framed the moment as a pivot in political method and timing. “Now we must transition from the negative phase to the positive phase of construction. The door is opening to a new political era and strategy,” he said.

He set the goal in institutional terms, arguing that the move requires a legal track. “The transition to democratic integration necessitates laws of peace,” the message said. “We aim to close the era of politics based on violence and to open a process based on a democratic society and the rule of law.”

Öcalan also included a broad call for participation beyond party lines. “We invite all segments of society to create opportunities and take responsibility in this direction,” the statement said.

Other lines highlighted in Turkish and regional reporting expanded the “positive construction” theme into a definition of method, arguing that the “positive phase” excludes “difficult and violence based” struggle and centers social consensus and integration.

The message was read out by senior Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) figure Pervin Buldan at an Ankara event, according to multiple accounts.

The PKK is designated as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the United States, and the European Union.