The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) held its 12th Congress between 5 and 7 May. At the conclusion of the congress, the PKK publicly announced its decision to dissolve the organization and bring its armed struggle to an end.

These historic decisions have sparked intense debate across Turkey and globally, creating a shared expectation that the state must now take concrete and meaningful steps.

The PKK’s decision to dissolve, and its strong emphasis on socialism as expressed in the official statement, is being discussed especially by organizations and movements engaged in class struggle and the socialist cause in both Turkey and Kurdistan.

Özgür Karabulut, Chairperson of the Revolutionary Construction, Building and Road Workers’ Union (Dev Yapı-Iş) talked to ANF about the PKK’s declaration.

The dissolution is a step toward democratization

Karabulut began by saying that he does not view himself as a traditional trade unionist, but rather as someone engaged in a field of struggle that he will one day pass on to others. He described the PKK’s decision as an important step in the democratic struggle.

He said that the state’s persistent policy of deadlock has already cost the country billions of dollars and continued: "We see this as a continuation of the process initiated by Mr. Öcalan’s ‘Call for Peace and a Democratic Society’ on 27 February, which ignited a sense of hope within society. The PKK’s decision to dissolve, declared as a stance against annihilation and denial policies, could lead to great societal progress if followed by political and legal reforms. The armed conflict that has lasted more than forty years could finally end, and the state could begin to move away from security-centered governance toward a democratic system.

For over a century, the state has manufactured enemies, polarized society using nationalist slogans like ‘homeland, nation, flag,’ and manipulated internal contradictions to suppress and conceal them. Resources extracted from the labor of workers and toilers have been channeled into the defense industry under the pretext of security, ultimately enriching war profiteers.

This ongoing policy of avoiding resolution has inflicted not only massive economic losses, but also deep social wounds. Millions have been displaced, and the costs have fallen the hardest on workers, youth, women, the poor, and society at large.

As workers and laborers, we view the emergence of a process aimed at addressing the country’s most fundamental problems, and the steps being taken to advance it, as highly positive."

War economy sustains the deadlock

Karabulut noted that society’s demands for democracy and workers’ rights to organize and protest have been constantly blocked. He said that laws and legal standards have essentially been suspended, and rights-based struggles are suppressed under the justification of "security policies."

He added: "Those who justify price hikes by saying, ‘Do you know how much a single bullet costs? We have no choice' will no longer be able to manipulate public consent.

As poverty deepens under the weight of the war economy, as unemployment surpasses ten million, and as more and more children go to school hungry or without a single meal, the resources now spent on weapons and imported F-35 jets should be redirected to solving the real problems of society.

At the very least, when these problems are raised or people fight for their rights, there will no longer be any valid excuse to suppress them."

Workers hit the hardest by the conflict

Karabulut emphasized that periods of conflict have always hit workers and the poor the hardest. He said: "I would like to commemorate Sırrı Süreyya Önder, and share a piece of research he once cited. In the 1990s, Kurdish laborers who were forcibly displaced overnight from Şırnak to Adana after their villages were burned, were forced to work as seasonal farmworkers. Önder explained how their arrival caused wages to fall from 30 liras to 14 liras in the region, while the Kurdish workers, who had lost everything, were forced to work for as little as 7 liras, barely enough to survive."

Karabulut added: "To me, this illustrates the harshest truth about the conflict. Millions were pushed into cities and reduced to a cheap labor force. Wages were deliberately lowered under the guise of market logic, and displaced Kurdish workers were scapegoated, creating a narrative of hostility. It is the same hostility we see today toward migrant workers from Syria and other countries."

A new era will bring relief to workers and laborers

Karabulut stated that after the collapse of the peaceful atmosphere in 2015, a system of exploitation emerged, and he emphasized the need for Turkey to free itself from this oppression through renewed struggle. He continued: "Dismantling the foundations of polarization and establishing a democratic transformation where justice and democracy function properly would not only benefit society as a whole, but also bring relief to workers and laborers, creating conditions for a dignified life and fair work.

Even during the pre-2015 peace process, a positive climate had developed. Anti-democratic measures were relaxed, barriers to organizing were reduced, employment increased, unionization rose, and the struggle for rights gained momentum. But after the coup attempt on 15 July, a period of repression returned under the state of emergency. Even today, workers and laborers are subjected to conditions reminiscent of emergency rule. In the struggle for organization and rights, laws are disregarded, and the entire system defends the interests of employers.

In 2013, Kurdish-majority areas were turned into a paradise for capitalists. With special incentives, organized industrial zones were created, and the region became a hub of cheap labor. It was as if a second Bangladesh was created inside Turkey. There were no unions, no organization, and when workers demanded their rights, everyone, from clerics to gendarmes, from mayors to state officials, stood with the bosses. Kurdish workers were condemned to wage slavery.

At the same time, nature has been plundered. Mountains, hills, and forests were torn apart by mining and oil projects. Alongside this exploitation of labor, environmental destruction has continued relentlessly."

The root solution lies in building socialism

Karabulut said: "Policies have been designed and implemented to prevent the region from becoming self-sufficient, to empty it of its population, and to destroy agricultural production. In a land with thousands of acres of farmland and centuries of pastoral tradition, people can no longer produce and are forced to migrate west as seasonal agricultural workers. Every year, hundreds die under deadly working conditions, whether in truck beds, worksite accidents, or falling from scaffolds.

Working people in Turkey are being forced to either accept conditions akin to slavery or face hunger. To break this cycle, the struggle must be strengthened, and we are doing our part.

If war, conflict, and polarization are limited to peace between conflicting sides alone, these problems cannot be solved. This process must involve all social forces, meaningful democratic steps must be taken, and the struggle must be advanced collectively.

At the root of all these problems lies the system of exploitation, the capitalist system, which robs human beings of their humanity. The true solution lies in building socialism and establishing a genuinely democratic structure."