ANKARA, March 18 (Xinhua) -- The imprisoned leader of outlawed Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) Abdullah Ocalan announced on Monday that he would make a "historic call for ceasefire to the group" on March 21, the day of spring festival Newroz celebrations, Turkish media reported.
A delegation from the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party ( BDP), who met with Ocalan on Monday, delivered the announcement on behalf of Ocalan.
BDP's co-chairperson Selahattin Demirtas conveyed Ocalan's message after the delegation visited Imrali Island, where the PKK leader serves life imprisonment after his capture in 1999.
"The solution process is continuing. Our target is the democratization of Turkey. Our work is under way to make a call to this end on March 21. The declaration I will prepare will be a historic one. It will have required elements for the political and military solution of the issue (Kurdish issue)," Demirtas read the PKK leader's message.
In his message, Ocalan said he wanted to solve the "arms issue" without losing one single life.
Ocalan said he attached importance to the parliament and also made a call on the Turkish Parliament to do "what falls on them" for the continuation of the peace process.
Turkish state authorities have been holding peace negotiations with Ocalan since last October to end the three-decade long insurgency.
The PKK members would withdraw from Turkey within nine months following March 21, Turkish Justice Minister Sadullah Ergin said at a televised interview on Sunday.
The PKK, listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey and most of the international community, took up arms in 1984 in an attempt to create an ethnic homeland in southeastern Turkey. Since then, over 35,000 people have been killed in conflicts involving the group.
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