The 12th Congress of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) was held between May 5 and 7 in the Medya Defense Areas. The final declaration and decisions of the congress were shared with the public yesterday.

PKK Executive committee Member Murat Karayılan made the opening speech of the congress. He said that ending the armed struggle was not an end but a new beginning.

We publish excerpts from Karayılan's intervention.

President Öcalan never gave up on transformation and change

The first ceasefire was declared in 1993, but elements of the deep state intervened. Turgut Özal, Eşref Bitlis, and their entire team were eliminated. As early as the 1990s, President Abdullah Öcalan sought to initiate change. Although some political shifts occurred, all of his efforts to implement organizational transformation were met with attacks by the state. Attempts made in 1995 and 1996 also failed. Letters were exchanged with Necmettin Erbakan, but he too was eventually sidelined. As is well known, the ceasefire declared in 1998 was answered with the International Conspiracy on February 15, 1999, when Öcalan was abducted in Kenya. Nevertheless, President Öcalan remained steadfast in his commitment to transformation. He never gave up. In 1999, the armed conflict was halted, and in 2002, the PKK was dissolved. The goal was transformation, the beginning of a new phase. However, this was met with broader intervention, liquidation efforts, and serious threats against the movement, both internally and externally. Another phase of the conspiracy was put into action.

Just as they sought to destroy the movement by capturing President Öcalan on February 15, 1999, they later tried to achieve the same goal through internal liquidation. Their aim was to sever the movement from President Öcalan’s line and distance it from his vision. As a result, President Öcalan was once again compelled to rebuild the PKK. It was under these circumstances that the Committee for the Rebuilding of the PKK emerged. Its purpose was to offer a solution to the ongoing crisis and eliminate liquidationist elements. Because all efforts for transformation, change, and resolution had been met with liquidationist approaches, the historic initiative of June 1, 2004, was launched.

Subsequent efforts between 2009 and 2013–2015 were also targeted by attacks from the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government and the state. For this reason, the transformation that President Öcalan had intended to implement in the 1990s could not be realized. The primary reason for this was the state's attacks. The state used these phases of transformation and change as opportunities to attempt to liquidate the movement. The second reason was ourselves. We were also unable to respond to President Öcalan’s efforts for transformation and change in the way he envisioned. We left everything unfinished and failed to complete the necessary transformation. We, too, became part of this impasse. These are the main reasons.

The plan to force surrender was not only Turkey’s, NATO also supported it

Naturally, all of socialism’s unresolved questions were examined through the experience of the PKK and the Kurdish cause. This led to the development of a new ideological line. Between 2003–2004 and the Fifth Defense Phase in 2010–2011, President Öcalan developed a new paradigm: the construction of democratic modernity against capitalist modernity and the establishment of democratic nationhood and social socialism against nation-state socialism. This new line could no longer be advanced under the influence of real socialism. In the past ten years, particularly following the Imralı process, which was preceded by the two-and-a-half to three-year Oslo talks, a consensus had already been reached. Though the protocols were drafted and presented to the state, the Turkish government refused to accept or respond. The Dolmabahçe Agreement later met the same fate. Instead, the state initiated its so-called “plan to force surrender.” But this plan was not devised by Turkey alone. While the Turkish state developed it, it was supported by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Eventually, with NATO’s involvement, they also constructed a collaborationist Kurdish faction.

Following the resistance for Democratic Autonomy in urban areas and the historic resistance of 2016, and with external intervention, further waves of resistance took place between 2017 and 2019. Heavy losses were sustained. The enemy tried to defeat us with superior military technology. In response, we developed our own techniques to match their power. Among the Kurdistan guerrillas, a self-sacrificing spirit emerged alongside a transformation in methods and tactics. As a result, the Turkish state became stuck and failed to achieve its goals. Their aim was full annihilation, which they openly declared. They wanted to declare victory in the 100th year of the Republic, but they failed. That is why, on behalf of the state, Devlet Bahçeli made a call. They were forced to seek a different path. President Öcalan had long been pushing for transformation. He himself stated that he had focused intensely on this in the past ten years. He was ready for change. Following Bahçeli’s statement, President Öcalan saw it as an opportunity and sought to use it to initiate the process he had long been preparing for.

Historic resistance was waged, and we suffered great losses

The dissolution of the PKK emerged in this context. President Öcalan developed a new line, advancing the concept of a democratic nation alongside democratic and social socialism. On this basis, transformation was necessary. The PKK had to evolve. The same applied to methods of struggle.  The armed struggle was carried out officially for 41 years. From comrade Haki to Sara, Delal, Atakan, Adil, Nûda, Reşit, Rojin, comrades Fuat and Rıza, and most recently our fallen comrades Gabar, Besê, and Mitra, we suffered great losses. Historic resistance was carried out. Nearly 35,000 guerrilla cadres and fighters became martyrs. Including civilians and patriots, the number of martyrs reaches 45,000 to 50,000. A unique spirit of resistance developed, one rarely seen anywhere in the world. We know it has no equivalent in the region or the Middle East. When ISIS emerged, states fled from them, but this spirit, this self-sacrificing line, defeated ISIS. It destroyed their so-called capital. Beginning in Kobanê, they defeated ISIS wherever they appeared.

The armed struggle created a great legacy, a legendary history written in golden letters. It became part of the history of Kurdistan and humanity. Such was the resistance displayed. The guerrilla and the PKK achieved success, even in the 1990s. Later, the enemy tried to destroy it but failed. The PKK proved its invincibility. It is an undefeatable force. Yet invincibility alone is not enough; success must also be achieved. That stage has not yet been reached. This war produced many outcomes. Above all, it halted genocide and brought the Kurdish people from non-existence into existence. It created a people capable of waging a struggle with the philosophy of democratic nationhood and social socialism. This is its greatest achievement. It also opened the path for a political solution. Without the PKK, the guerrilla, the resistance in Zap, the Apoist resistance and labor across all regions of Kurdistan, without the sacrifices of our people and our friends, without the unity around President Öcalan, would the state have approached him? It would not have. It was President Öcalan’s meaningful, insistent, and resistant stance, the guerrilla’s resistance, and the people’s sacrifice that forced the state to turn to him.

President Öcalan’s call is a call to build the struggle of a new era

Devlet Bahçeli made his statement on behalf of the state, or at least one wing of it. He said, “There is a threat looming over Turkey, so we must secure peace within.” President Öcalan’s call on February 27 is a historic call, one that signals the beginning of a new era. It marks a new phase. It is a call for the transformation of nation-state socialism and the advancement of the democratic nation and social socialism; it is a call for a move toward democratic confederalism and democratic socialism. We must understand and respond to President Öcalan’s call in this spirit. It is a call to develop the struggle of a new era.

I know that many comrades are approaching this moment emotionally, but as I said, we used to treat such turning points similarly in the past. Yet over time, and as the struggle progressed, we saw that what President Öcalan said back then was correct. It is the same today. President Öcalan sees that what is happening has gone beyond its previous boundaries. He is focusing intensely on this basis and is taking concrete steps. This call and this process mark a new period. And this call holds historic significance not only for Kurdistan but for all of humanity. It now goes beyond the borders of Kurdistan. In order for democratic modernity to succeed against capitalist modernity, we must now cast off the chains that restrain us, those that confine us to being a voice only within Kurdistan. President Öcalan is asking this of us. This is how we must understand the dissolution of the PKK.

If they speak of peace, they must end hostility

Undoubtedly, the creation of a broader paradigm and of social socialism today can no longer be achieved through armed means as in the past. We understand and recognize the need for change from our side. As President Öcalan has stated, in reality, the lifespan of the PKK effectively came to an end in the 1990s. There were doubts surrounding Devlet Bahçeli’s recent statement, but the efforts of President Öcalan, our revered martyr Sırrı Süreyya Önder, and the Imralı delegation, as well as their meetings with state officials, political actors, and civil society organizations, created a foundation for this transformation. Change is a necessity; it is inevitable. This congress will mark historic decisions. The decision for dissolution will likely be taken. We are firmly convinced of this. For the decision to end the armed struggle to be implemented, legal reforms are required. As our martyr Sırrı Süreyya Önder wrote in his own hand and read aloud at the historic press conference on February 27, the existence of legal and democratic political rights is essential.

This movement has defended itself for years through armed struggle, but it must also come to believe in laws, rights, and the constitution. Therefore, concrete legal steps must be taken, reforms must be enacted. If they speak of internal peace, then they must also end hostility. Yet attacks continue. Chemical attacks continue. Comrades Besê and Mitra were martyred on April 11 in Girê Cûdî, in the Zap region, by chemical weapons. These attacks persist despite our declared ceasefire. There must be a shift in the state’s policy of denial and annihilation. Without a change in this mindset, on what basis will internal peace be established? Those who claim they seek peace must first abandon the mentality of denial and annihilation. There must be a genuine internal peace. The existing laws are hostile laws; they reject the Kurdish people and Kurdish society. Therefore, only through legal and constitutional reform by the state can this movement implement disarmament. Otherwise, it will be extremely difficult.

For us to lay down arms, the state must also inspire trust

The primary goal of everyone, especially the guerrilla fighters engaged in the armed struggle, is the physical freedom of President Öcalan. It is true that President Öcalan has certain expectations of us at this time, and we fully trust him. However, for us to genuinely lay down our arms, we must also be able to trust the state. At present, the approach of the Turkish state does not inspire much trust. We are not approaching this matter in a narrow, rigid, or perpetually suspicious manner; we are taking an honest and genuine stance. Above all, there must be legal reforms. As I mentioned earlier, the groundwork has already been partially laid through President Öcalan’s efforts, the struggle of the delegation, and the movement's sacrifices. This is why our congress may take certain decisions, even in the face of the state’s current stance, where some signals are negative and others positive.

Those who want to continue the war must know they will never defeat us

The state seeks to profit from war, to sustain it, and to achieve its goals through it. But once again, I must say: they will not succeed through war. Why? Because we, too, have 41 years of experience. We have developed new tactics. We have taken the war underground, above ground, and into the skies. They cannot defeat us. They cannot eliminate us. The resistance built upon the new war doctrine established at the Command Council Meeting of the People's Defense Forces (HPG) is invincible. Even if another hundred years pass, the outcome will be the same. That is why our analysis is sound and our leadership is right. If this continues, they cannot defeat us. They tried to overpower us with technology, but we have now developed our own technologies in response. The children and friends of this people have not only embraced a self-sacrificing spirit; they have also developed advanced techniques. And our people stand with us. So to those who insist on war, we say once again: you will never defeat us.

This movement has proven its invincibility, and so has this people. Under the leadership of President Öcalan, our people are also ready for peace. Truly ready to establish internal peace. The state’s approach must reflect this reality. The mindset that says, “We can eliminate them by force, we’ve already weakened them, we’ll win through operations and attacks,” is not a mindset of resolution. It is not a sound approach. The guerrilla can continue the struggle in line with the methods and demands of this era and can once again demonstrate its invincibility. But as President Öcalan has also emphasized, that era has passed. Therefore, change is necessary, and we believe in this. We believe that the strategy of armed warfare must come to an end. However, if the state refuses to accept this and does not implement the necessary legal changes, it will not be possible to realize this in practice. This is not an end; it is a beginning. A new beginning for freedom, for the Apoist movement, for our people and the peoples of the region. We must approach it with this understanding.

For our congress to succeed and produce meaningful outcomes along the line of President Öcalan, every comrade must see themselves as responsible and act with that sense of duty. We are committed to the path of the martyrs and of President Öcalan. We are the representatives of the martyrs. Hundreds of comrades have fallen beside each of us. This is deeply meaningful and a heavy responsibility. We cannot approach it lightly. Our responsibilities are great. What matters to us is how we respond to the truth of President Öcalan, how we represent the legacy of the martyrs. I believe that every comrade will participate in this congress with these emotions and this sense of responsibility. Our congress will succeed within the framework of President Öcalan’s perspective. In this spirit, I wish success to all comrades.