Following Öcalan’s call for peace on February 27, the PKK declared a ceasefire on March 1, and announced its dissolution during its 12th Congress held in early May. After a video message from Öcalan was released on July 9, a group of 30 guerrilla fighters, led by KCK Executive Council Co-Chair Besê Hozat, gathered in Şikefta Casenê (Jasene Cave) in Sulaymaniyah and ceremonially destroyed their weapons.

 

FROM TORTURE TO RESISTANCE

 

Among them were Hüseyin Nas (Xebat Penaber) from Siirt and Tacdin Işık (Mehti Akif) from Çarçelan village in Van’s Payîzava district. Işık joined the PKK in 1994 at the age of 16 after being subjected to state torture and repression during the 1990s. The Işık family was later forced to flee to Istanbul due to increasing state pressure.

 

90-YEAR-OLD MOTHER SAW HER SON AGAIN

 

Kumru Işık, 90, said she was overjoyed to see her son after so many years: “When I saw him, I was so happy and proud. My only wish now is for all mothers to be reunited with their children.”

 

She highlighted the emotional impact of Öcalan’s televised message, saying: “It made us very happy to see Mr. Öcalan after 26 years. We hope his call will lead to peace. Like everyone, we want peace, but it can only happen if Öcalan is freed. That is the foundation of our belief in the process.”

 

Kumru Isık added that all guerrilla fighters are like her own children, and she dreams of one day sitting with her son and hearing his stories: “If I see my son again, I want to hear everything, about his life, his friends, and what he went through.”

 

A BITTERSWEET JOY

 

Mehmet Can Nas, brother of Hüseyin Nas, described the moment he saw his brother on screen as deeply emotional: “As we watched, a mother whose son died in the war told me, ‘I wish my son had lived to see this day, and then rested his head again.’ That sentence stayed with me. We couldn’t fully rejoice, because we remembered all the lives lost.”

 

He emphasized that the PKK’s disarmament was a good-faith step, and that Öcalan’s leadership in peace was now visible globally: “Öcalan has the knowledge, vision, and preparation to lead this peace process. The Kurdish people trust him wholeheartedly.”

 

LEGAL STEPS COULD BUILD TRUST

 

Nas called for immediate legal reforms to strengthen faith in the peace process: “There’s no problem on the Kurdish side. But the state’s inaction creates anxiety. Even releasing the ill and political prisoners, or restoring parole rights, could send a strong signal and raise expectations for real change.”

 

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