ISTANBUL — The Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, has announced that it plans to disband and disarm, potentially bringing decades of conflict with Turkiye to an end.
The move was reported on Monday by the Firat News Agency, a media outlet close to the armed group. Part of a new peace initiative with Ankara designed to end four decades of violence, the announcement follows a call in February by jailed leader Abdullah Ocalan for the PKK to lay down its arms.
Following a party congress in northern Iraq that ended on Friday, the group said it had reached “historic” decisions that would be shared with the public soon.
Firat reported that a statement by Ocalan outlining his “perspectives and proposals” was read during the congress.
In a statement carried by Firat on Monday, the PKK announced that its armed struggle had successfully challenged policies that sought to suppress Kurdish rights.
The PKK has “completed its historical mission”, it read, and “the 12th PKK Congress has decided to dissolve the PKK’s organisational structure and end its method of armed struggle”.
“As a result, activities carried out under the name ‘PKK’ were formally terminated,” the statement said.
“If the new PKK decision is fully implemented, shutting down all PKK branches, illegal structures, it will be a turning point,” said Omer Celik, a spokesman for the governing Justice and Development Party, or AK Party.
Shifting regional sands
The announcement signals the potential end of a conflict that has plagued the region, spilling over into northern Iraq and Syria.
In February, Ocalan – who has been in jail since 1999 – called on the group to lay down its arms and dissolve itself in a bid to end the hostilities, which have claimed tens of thousands of lives since the 1980s.
The PKK, which is listed as a terrorist organisation by Turkiye and most Western states, announced a ceasefire days later, but set conditions to disband, including the establishment of a legal mechanism for peace talks.
The group said the Kurdish people would embrace peace and a democratic process, and “will understand the decision to dissolve the PKK and end the armed struggle method better than anyone else”.
“We believe that Kurdish political parties, democratic organisations and opinion leaders will fulfil their responsibilities in developing Kurdish democracy and ensuring the formation of a Kurdish democratic nation.”
The announcement by the PKK comes against a backdrop of significant changes in the region, including a new administration in Syria, the weakening of the Hezbollah armed group in Lebanon and the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.
In recent years, the PKK has been limited to isolated attacks inside Turkiye as the military pushed its fighters across the mountainous border into Iraq.
The president of the Kurdish region of northern Iraq, Nechirvan Barzani, welcomed the announcement, saying the PKK’s disarmament would strengthen regional stability.
The latest peace initiative was launched in October by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s coalition partner, Devlet Bahceli. The far-right politician suggested that Ocalan could be granted parole if the PKK renounces violence and disbands.
In late February, Erdogan described the group’s potential dissolution as a “historic opportunity to advance towards the objective of destroying the wall of terror”.
PKK fighters’ future unclear
Any concessions the PKK might obtain in exchange for its decision to disband have not been disclosed.
Details of the peace initiative have also not been made public, and it remains unclear how the process would proceed, including how weapons would be disposed of, who would monitor the procedures, or the future of PKK fighters — whether they might be relocated to third countries.
“If terrorism is completely eradicated, it will open the door to a new era,” said AK Party’s Celik.
However, he warned that the decision must apply to all “PKK branches, affiliates and illegal structures”.
That appears to be a reference to Kurdish fighters in Syria, who have ties to the PKK and have been involved in intense fighting with Turkish-backed forces on the ground there.
The leader of the US-backed Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces previously stated that Ocalan’s call for a ceasefire does not apply to his group in Syria. I aje
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