On February 27, Abdullah Öcalan published a historic “Call for Peace and a Democratic Society.” In it, he calls on the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) to convene a congress to decide on its dissolution and the laying down of arms and emphasizes that Turkey must enter a new phase of democratic transformation that recognizes all social identities. The news was received worldwide with hope but also with skepticism.

The PKK has accepted Öcalan’s appeal in principle and declared a cease-fire. The Kurdish guerrilla group has declared such unilateral cease-fires several times since 1993, with the Turkish state always waiting for similar steps to be taken. This time, Turkey carried out at least 118 attacks on the PKK in Northern Iraq in March alone and continued its repression of Kurdish civil society in Turkey. Attacks on the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), such as the arrest of Istanbul mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, are also being carried out under the pretext of supporting the Kurdish freedom movement.

The Kurds expect concrete steps toward a peace process from the Erdoğan regime: this includes, in particular, the release of Öcalan, a mutual cease-fire, and constitutional guarantees for democratic reforms and the rights of Kurds and other minorities. In an interview with Jacobin, Tuncer Bakırhan, cochair of the left-wing Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), explains whether this is possible in a Turkey ruled by Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.