Ekrem İmamoğlu, the Mayor of Greater Istanbul, who has been detained by Turkish authorities on corruption charges, issued a statement regarding the dissolution and cessation of the PKK’s armed struggle:
“The PKK organization has decided to dissolve itself and lay down its weapons. I am very pleased that the era that wasted the lives of our youth and tens of thousands of Turkish and Kurdish citizens, and drained our income and financial resources over the past forty years, is coming to an end. The time for dialogue, politics, and action has arrived. We must move forward, both domestically and internationally, to ensure we do not return to those dark days. It is necessary to implement legal measures across a wide range of areas, from completing the disarmament process peacefully to recognizing the rights of our citizens as equal members of the Republic of Turkey. This includes implementing comprehensive political and legal reforms and launching a major development campaign in eastern and southeastern Anatolia.
Such a significant and critical process cannot succeed through closed-door meetings of a few politicians, as the government seeks, without the support and consent of society, the participation of experts, and the minimum conditions of democracy, such as freedom of expression and association. I reiterate, such an extensive and vital process cannot be achieved with a short-term perspective focused on salvaging the situation or winning elections, while ignoring the regional dimension of the issue. To complete this process, a public debate must take place in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, followed by the formation of a committee with the participation of all parties represented in parliament to address this matter.
Forty years of pain have deep-rooted causes, some of which stem from our government’s actions. We must acknowledge that this issue, which has caused immense pain for forty years, has a profound history and reasons, some of which originate from our country’s misguided policies. The primary reason behind this is our failure to convince our Kurdish citizens to feel like equal citizens in our Republic, coupled with our security-driven perspective toward Kurds beyond our borders. If we can ensure that Kurds feel equal to everyone else, our country will become the guiding star of the Middle East.”
