Fighters from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), a Kurdish separatist group engaged in a decades-long insurgency in Turkey, have commenced a symbolic disarmament ceremony in northern Iraq. This marks the initial tangible step toward a promised disarmament outlined within a broader peace process.
In May, the PKK declared its intention to disband and abandon armed conflict, effectively ending four decades of hostilities with the Turkish state.
This decision followed an appeal from imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan, who has been incarcerated on an island near Istanbul since 1999. In February, Ocalan urged his group to convene a congress to formally disband and disarm.
Reinforcing this call, Ocalan released a video message on Wednesday, stating: “I believe in the power of politics and social peace, not weapons.”
In Turkey, Devlet Bahceli, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s nationalist ally and an early proponent of the peace process, welcomed the development.
“Starting today, members of the separatist terrorist organisation have begun surrendering their weapons in groups, marking historic developments that signal the end of a dark era,” Mr Bahceli stated in writing.
“These are exceptionally important days for both Turkey and our region.”
Bahceli, known for his traditionally hardline stance against the PKK, surprised observers in October when he suggested in parliament that Ocalan could be granted parole if he renounced violence and dissolved the PKK.
The disarmament ceremony was held in the mountainous region outside Sulaymaniyah, located within the semi-autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq.
The state-run Iraqi News Agency reported that “the process will take place in stages, with a group of party members initially laying down their weapons ‘symbolically’.”
The agency anticipates that the overall disarmament process will conclude by September.
The PKK has historically maintained established bases within the mountains of northern Iraq.
In response, Turkish forces have launched military offensives and conducted air strikes against PKK positions inside Iraq, and have also established military bases within the region.
Consequently, many villages in the affected areas have been abandoned.
The Iraqi government in Baghdad officially banned the PKK last year, mirroring its long-standing prohibition in Turkey.
Journalists were restricted from accessing the site of Friday’s ceremony.
According to an Iraqi Kurdish political official, approximately 30 fighters participated in the ceremony. Present at the event were representatives from the Turkish intelligence service, the Kurdish regional government, Iraq’s Patriotic Union of Kurdistan party, and the People’s Equality and Democracy Party, a pro-Kurdish political party operating in Turkey.
PKK officials have stated that the continuation of the disarmament process depends on Turkey taking steps to end the “regime of isolation” imposed on Ocalan in prison and allowing for the integration of former militants into the Turkish political system.
