PKK's Socialist Swan Song? Leadership Invokes Radical Roots Amidst Dissolution, Sparking Critical Scrutiny

As the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), an illegal entity in Turkey and several countries, navigates its historic decision to dissolve and cease its armed struggle, a senior figure has made a striking appeal to the organization's socialist foundations. Sozdar Avesta, a KCK General Presidential Council member, recently emphasized that "Achieving results is possible with a socialist life," quoting PKK founder Abdullah Öcalan's declaration, "I live here as a socialist." This invocation of socialism, however, comes at the very moment the PKK is formally ending its nearly five-decade insurgency, a move justified by the claim that the Kurdish issue can now be resolved via "democratic politics"—a rationale that critics argue highlights a profound ideological shift away from, rather than a return to, its Marxist-Leninist origins.

The PKK's bombshell announcement on May 12, 2025, stated its dissolution following a congress held from May 5-7. After almost 50 years of conflict with the Turkish state, the group declared that the Kurdish question had "reached a point where it can be resolved through democratic politics." This pivot to ostensibly mainstream political engagement makes Avesta's socialist rhetoric particularly noteworthy, prompting critical analysis of its sincerity and purpose.

Founded on Marxist-Leninist principles emphasizing class struggle and national liberation, the PKK's ideological trajectory has, for years, shown a discernible drift. Analysts point a significant departure from these foundational socialist tenets towards more liberal ideological frameworks. While Avesta's statement appears to reaffirm the PKK's socialist credentials, it largely sidesteps the organization's gradual embrace of environmentalism, feminism, and Öcalan's "democratic confederalism"—often presented without a robust class-based analysis.

This ideological evolution is starkly evident in the PKK's dissolution announcement itself. The focus on "democratic politics," "common homeland," and "equal citizenship" conspicuously omits any mention of socialist revolution or class liberation. The congress resolution, which paved the way for dissolution, explicitly aimed for a "democratic society" built on these principles, with socialist transformation notably absent from its stated goals.

Avesta emphasizes Öcalan's early commitment to women's liberation and the 1993 establishment of the Women's Army; however, a brief look at the background of this development reveals its liberal feminist discourse. This modern framing often detaches women's oppression from the systemic class exploitation that a traditional socialist feminist lens would prioritize. Similarly, the PKK's recent environmental stance mirrors liberal environmentalism, focusing on conservation without fundamentally challenging the capitalist modes of production that ecosocialists identify as the primary drivers of environmental degradation.

Avesta's invocation of socialism, therefore, seems less a reaffirmation of core ideology and more a strategic attempt to maintain a semblance of ideological continuity during a period of unprecedented organizational upheaval. The timing, directly in the shadow of the dissolution, suggests an effort to reassure a base potentially unsettled by the abandonment of armed struggle and the embrace of "democratic politics."

However, this narrative clashes with the pragmatic justifications offered for dissolution, such as "current developments in the Middle East" influencing a reassessment of Kurdish-Turkish relations. Such geopolitical pragmatism further underscores a shift away from revolutionary socialist ideals towards a more accommodationist political strategy.

In conclusion, Sozdar Avesta's statement attempts to bridge the PKK's socialist past with its increasingly liberal present and democratic-political future. Yet, despite the rhetorical nods to Öcalan's socialist identity, the critical consensus is that this cannot obscure the PKK's substantial ideological metamorphosis. The decision to dissolve and pursue "democratic politics" culminates a long-term trend: the gradual abandonment of class struggle, favoring liberal frameworks, a transformation that last-minute socialist pronouncements are unlikely to reverse.

Photo: ANF