The decisions made at the PKK’s historic 12th Congress, held between May 5–7, continue to echo. The PKK’s final declaration stated that the organization has decided to dissolve and that it activities ended under the PKK name. 

 

Fırat News Agency (ANF) featured assessments from Sabri Ok, a member of the KCK Executive Council, and Besta Botan, one of the congress delegates.

 

Sabri Ok stated that Kurdish People’s Leader Abdullah Öcalan wants to open the doors to a new era. Ok said: “He wants to build a democratic society, a democratic unity. This will be shaped according to the process, the era, and the world. We need to understand the spirit of this. We must respond accordingly. The PKK used to say ‘independent state more than anyone else.’ That was our slogan. We even spoke of a United Kurdistan state. Now, Leader Apo wants to bring together the Kurdish nation, the freedom of the Kurdish people, across the four parts of Kurdistan. He no longer adopts a paradigm like the one we had during the times we aimed for a nation-state. He defines and names things according to the current era.”

 

Drawing attention to Öcalan’s evaluations based on the concept of “democratic society socialism,” Ok stressed: “Leader Apo wants us to live and experience the depth he has reached. We must live the strategic thinking system of Leader Apo, and we must understand, assess, and perceive ourselves accordingly.”

 

Ok said: “In the face of Leader Apo’s reality and the historic step he wants to take, it is our duty and responsibility to enter a new process with great morale, awareness, and resistance. Believe in yourself, have confidence. Believe in Leader Apo. But we must also recognize this; we are in a war. We never know when or where something might happen. Our reflexes, our lives, and our efforts must always be shaped accordingly.”

 

'WE MUST FIRST BUILD OURSELVES'

 

“In the new process, a democratic society will be built,” said Botan and added: “Leader Apo initiated a process of change in the 2000s. He wrote books. In particular, by writing the ‘Democratic Society Manifesto’ in 2010, he gave the PKK a new identity. Yes, the armed struggle is now ending, but a more profound and comprehensive struggle based on democratic politics and society is beginning. We are stepping into a process that requires deepening on every level. In this context, to be able to build in this new process, we must first build ourselves. On this basis, we must be able to build a democratic society. Of course, we are also experiencing the excitement of this. It is a historic process. We must fulfill our duties and responsibilities in line with this.”