Jailed Kurdish militant leader calls on PKK to dissolve, pro-Kurdish party says

Pro-Kurd protesters hold flags with portraits of jailed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Ocalan as they take part in a demonstration in support to him in Strasbourg, France, February 16, 2019. REUTERS/Vincent Kessler

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - The jailed leader of the outlawed Kurdish militant group PKK called on Thursday for the group to lay down its arms and dissolve itself, in a letter read by Turkey's pro-Kurdish DEM Party.

"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," Ocalan was quoted as saying.

(Reporting by Ece Toksabay and Huseyin Hayatsever; Editing by Jonathan Spicer)