Turkey’s defense chief says PKK ceasefire holds 'no significance'
The Turkish defense chief asserts that the Kurdistan Workers Party and all its offshoots must immediately dissolve, dismissing its unilateral ceasefire while Turkey continues targeting militants.
ANKARA — Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler dismissed the ceasefire recently declared by the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), saying on Friday that it holds "no significance" and reiterating that the militant group and its affiliates must dissolve immediately.
The PKK announced the ceasefire on Saturday after its imprisoned leader, Abdullah Ocalan, called last week for the end of the group's 40-year conflict with Turkey.
The PKK “must immediately dissolve itself and unconditionally lay down arms,” Guler said. Speaking at a military ceremony in western Turkey, he added, “Any statement or action beyond this has no significance and never will.”
As part of its unilateral ceasefire announcement, the PKK said it would comply with Ocalan’s call to convene a congress to discuss disbanding but insisted that Ocalan himself oversee the process. He has been serving a life sentence without parole since 1999 on a prison island off Istanbul.
