The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (Partiya Karkerên Kurdistan, PKK) held its 12th Extraordinary Congress between 5 and 7 May 2025, in the Medya Defense Areas, in response to Abdullah Öcalan’s 'Call for Peace and Democratic Society' made on 27 February 2025.

The congress was held simultaneously and in parallel in two different regions within the Medya Defense Areas. It was attended by 232 delegates, including members of the PKK Executive Committee, PKK Central Committee, co-chairs and members of the Executive Council of the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK), members of the HPG Military Council, and coordinators from the KJK and PAJK.

Posters of Öcalan and revolutionary martyrs were displayed in the congress hall, along with a poster of Sırrı Süreyya Önder, a member of the Imrali delegation, who recently passed away. After a minute of silence in memory of the fallen revolutionaries, the selection of the congress chair began. PKK Executive Committee members Duran Kalkan and Xalîde Engîzek, KCK Executive Council member Sabri Ok, PKK Central Committee member Hêlîn Ümit, and PAJK Coordination member Raperin Munzur were chosen to form the congress chair.

Duran Kalkan: This is not an end, but a new beginning

The opening speech was made by PKK Executive Committee member Duran Kalkan, who began by commemorating all revolutionary martyrs, starting with Haki Karer, Ali Haydar Kaytan (Fuat), Rıza Altun, and Sırrı Süreyya Önder. He said that the dissolution of the PKK was "not an end, but a new beginning." Kalkan added: "This congress is different from the others. In a way, it can be compared to our first congress. It is being held to historically conclude and properly situate the PKK. But this is not the final end; rather, the goal is to create space for new initiatives and opportunities."

The PKK is the organization of the Apoist line

Kalkan noted that the core structure of the PKK initially formed around Leader Öcalan and later became known under names such as 'Apocular' (followers of Apo, as Öcalan is called), 'Kurdistan Revolutionaries,' and 'Kurdistan Revolutionary Youth Union.' Kalkan added: "By the end of 1978, the need to organize as a party was felt, leading to the name ‘Partiya Karkerên Kurdistan.’ So the PKK didn’t just suddenly emerge as such. It’s important to recognize this. But yes, the PKK became the organization of the Apoist line, taking that essence and working to give it form. Apoist militancy and PKK militancy developed on this basis."

A congress for a new beginning

Kalkan continued: "Why is this congress like our First Congress? Back then, there was a strong will for a new beginning. Now, there is a strong will to conclude that beginning historically. But this is not an end in the sense of termination. It is about ending one phase in order to pave the way for a newer, stronger, and more ambitious beginning."

The PKK revived a Kurdish identity on the brink of extinction

After the reading of the political report outlining Öcalan’s perspectives on the congress, the Central Committee report of the PKK was presented. The political report, which included an assessment of the political and military process, underlined the PKK's impact over the past 50 years in Kurdistan, stating that it revived a Kurdish identity that was on the brink of extinction.

The report said: “The PKK marks a new era in Kurdish history and the birth of a new, free Kurdish identity in Kurdistan. The official formation of the party at the First Congress was a radical intervention against historical extinction and the declaration of a new era of freedom. The 12th Congress, likewise, ends the phase carried out through the PKK and aims to open the path for a new era in that history of freedom.”

Paving the way for new strategies

The report said that while the founding congress was mainly a call to the Kurdish people, the 12th congress aims to launch a broader liberation movement for all oppressed groups and peoples. "Dissolving the PKK’s organizational structure and ending its armed struggle as a fundamental strategy means paving the way for the Kurdish freedom struggle and democratic society efforts to be carried forward with new strategies and organizational forms."

The most glorious period in Kurdish history

The report underlined that dissolving the PKK’s organizational structure was not the end of the revolutionary freedom movement, but the start of a new phase: "The PKK represented the most glorious period in Kurdistan’s history. The PKK meant courage, heroism, sacrifice. It represented the free Kurdish identity based on women’s freedom. It was the rebirth of the Kurdish truth through the Apoist line. Values such as honor, loyalty, and solidarity were redefined thanks to the PKK. The Apoist Movement created all of this under the PKK name and is now placing this truth in its rightful historical position with the 12th Congress. All of this is being done entirely through our own free will and decisions, in order to advance further in the path of a free life and democratic society. The PKK will always be remembered and live on as the true movement of heroism and freedom in the history of Kurdistan."

Decision adopted unanimously 

After the evaluation of the political-military process, the congress moved to discuss the new phase of the struggle. Over the course of three days, there were intensive, multi-faceted discussions and evaluations. Proposals prepared by the Congress Preparation Committee, covering 'Leadership, Martyrs, Veterans, the Organizational Structure of the PKK and Armed Struggle Method, and Building a Democratic Society,' were debated and decided on. All resolutions were adopted unanimously after thorough and nuanced discussions.

The process will be managed and led by Öcalan

The most discussed and publicly anticipated resolution was the one proposing the dissolution of the PKK. Following comprehensive assessments and discussions, the congress adopted the decision "to dissolve the PKK’s organizational structure and end its armed struggle method, under the condition that the practical process is led and managed by Leader Apo, thus concluding the activities carried out under the name of the PKK."

The 12th Extraordinary Congress of the PKK ended with the slogans 'Bijî Serok Apo' (Long Live Leader Apo), 'Jin, Jiyan, Azadî' (Woman, Life, Freedom), and 'Insisting on Humanity is Insisting on Socialism.'

It was announced that the results from the two parallel congresses would be soon shared with the public.