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Kurdish rebel leader calls for historic truce
ANKARA, Turkey — In a major step toward ending one of the world’s longest, bloodiest insurgencies, the Kurds’ jailed rebel leader called Thursday for a “new era” of peace that includes an immediate cease-fire and the withdrawal of thousands of his fighters from Turkey.
Abdullah Ocalan’s rebel group, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, has been waging a nearly 30-year battle against the Turkish government, seeking autonomy and greater rights. The fight has killed tens of thousands of people and the group is considered a terror organization by Turkey and its Western allies, including the United States.
The Turkish government reacted cautiously but Ocalan’s announcement at a Kurdish spring festival was met with joy from the hundreds of thousands who gathered to hear it in Diyarbakir, the largest city in Turkey’s mainly Kurdish southeast.
“We have reached the point where the guns must be silenced and where ideas must speak. A new era has started, where politics, not guns, are at the forefront,” Ocalan said in a call from jail relayed by pro-Kurdish legislators in both Kurdish and Turkish.
“A door is opening from the armed struggle toward the democratic struggle,” Ocalan said. “This is not an end. This is a new start.”
“We have reached the stage where our armed elements need to retreat beyond the border,” his message added.
People in the sprawling crowd sang, danced and waved rebel flags or banners with images of Ocalan. They appeared cheered at the prospect of an end to the conflict that has dominated the southeast for so long.
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