• Date: March 23, 2025
• Time: 1 – 3 pm GMT

1. Welcome and opening - GTAGlobal Tapestry of Alternatives (5 min)
2. Context and aim of Abdullah Ocalan's call - Jineolojî Academy (15 min.)
3. Reactions and impact of Öcalan's call on the Kurdish movement, political parties and movements in Turkey and internationally: Academy of Democratic Modernity (15 min.)
4. Impact of Abdullah Öcalan's call on the revolution in Rojava / North and East Syria and the current situation in Syria - Salih Muslim, former co-chair and now member of the presidential committee of the Democratic Union Party, PYD (15 min.)
5. Questions & Answers / Common Discussion (60 min)

Organised by the Global TapestryThe weaving of networks of Alternatives of AlternativesAre activities and initiatives, concepts, worldviews, or action proposals by collectives, groups, organizations, communities, or social movements challenging and replacing the dominant system that perpetuates inequality, exploitation, and unsustainabiity. In the GTA we focus primarily on what we call "radical or transformative alternatives", which we define as initiatives that are attempting to break with the dominant system and take paths towards direct and radical forms of political and economic democracy, localised self-reliance, social justice and equity, cultural and knowledge diversity, and ecological resilience. Their locus is neither the State nor the capitalist economy. They are advancing in the process of dismantling most forms of hierarchies, assuming the principles of sufficiency, autonomy, non-violence, justice and equality, solidarity, and the caring of life and the Earth. They do this in an integral way, not limited to a single aspect of life. Although such initiatives may have some kind of link with capitalist markets and the State, they prioritize their autonomy to avoid significant dependency on them and tend to reduce, as much as possible, any relationship with them., Jineoloji and the Academy of Democratic Modernity.

Below, we reproduce Öcalan’s original letter:

The PKK was born in the 20th century, in the most violent epoch of the history of humanity, amidst the two World wars, under the shadow of the experience of real socialism and the cold war around the World. The outright denial of Kurdish reality, restrictions on basic rights and freedoms - especially freedom of expression - played a significant role in its emergence and development. 
 
The PKK has been under the heavy realities of the century and the system of real socialism in terms of its adopted theory, program, strategy and tactics. In the 1990s, with the collapse of real socialism due to internal dynamics, the dissolution of the denial of Kurdish identity in the country, and improvements in freedom of expression, led to weakening of the PKK´s foundational meaningfulness and resulted in excessive repetition. 
 
Throughout the history of more than 1000 years, Turkish and Kurdish relations were defined in terms of mutual cooperation and alliance, and Turks and Kurds have found it essential to remain in this voluntary alliance to maintain their existence and survive against hegemonic Powers.
 
The last 200 years of capitalist modernity have been marked by primarily with the aim to break this alliance. The forces involved, in line with their class-based interests, have played a key role in furthering this objective. With monist interpretations of the Republic, this process has accelerated.  Today, the main task is to restructure the historical relationship, which has become extremely fragile, without excluding consideration for beliefs with the spirit of fraternity.
 
The need for a democratic society is inevitable. The PKK, the longest and most extensive insurgency and armed movement in the history of the Republic, found social base and support, and was primarily inspired by the fact that the channels of democratic politics were closed. 
 
The inevitable outcome of the extreme nationalist deviations - such as a separate nation-state, federation, administrative autonomy, or culturalist solutions - fails to answer the historical sociology of the society.  
 
Respect for identities, free self-expression, democratic self-organization of each segment of society based on their own socio-economic and political structures, are only possible through the existence of a democratic society and political space.
 
The second century of the Republic can  achieve and assure permanent and fraternal continuity only if it is crowned with democracy. There is no alternative to democracy in the pursuit and realization of a political system. Democratic consensus is the fundamental way. 
   
The language of the epoch of peace and democratic society needs to be developed in accordance with this reality. 
 
The call made by Mr. Devlet Bahceli, along with the will expressed by Mr. President, and the positive responses from the other political parties towards the known call, has created an environment in which I am making a call for the laying down of arms, and I take on the historical responsibility of this call. 
 
As in the case with any modern community and party whose existence has not been abolished by force, would voluntarily do, convene your congress and make a decision; all groups must lay their arms and the PKK must dissolve itself. 
 
I convey my greetings to all those who believe in co-existence and who look forward to my call. 
 
February 25, 2025
 
Abdullah Öcalan

Öcalan also conveyed an additional note via the İmralı Delegation:

Undoubtedly, the laying down of arms and the dissolution of the PKK in practice require the recognition of democratic politics and a legal framework.