After days of uncertainty, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) has confirmed its intention to lay down its arms and abandon its decades-long insurgency against the Turkish state.
Designated as a terrorist group by Turkey, the European Union (EU), and the United States, the PKK waged a violent, decades-long insurgency against the Turkish state in which tens of thousands of people were killed.
The PKK’s declaration was issued shortly after an extraordinary group congress was held last week in northern Iraq’s Kurdish region, where the group is headquartered.
“Our congress was held in a safe way despite difficult conditions,” it said in its statement, noting that 232 PKK “delegates” had attended the event.
Held from May 5 to May 7, the congress was convened to discuss recent appeals by Abdullah Ocalan, the PKK’s long-jailed leader, for the group to lay down its arms and make peace with Turkey, a NATO member.
When Ocalan initially made his appeal in February, it was welcomed by the United States, the EU, and several regional states, including Iraq and Iran.
In a sign of the region’s complex dynamics, Washington arms and supports the People’s Protection Units, commonly known as the YPG, the PKK’s offshoot in northern Syria. Hundreds of U.S. troops remain stationed there as part of a coalition against the ISIS terrorist group.
In early March, the PKK leadership, based in northern Iraq’s Qandil Mountain region, appeared to respond positively to the jailed leader’s call to disarm.
“We will heed the necessities of the call and implement it,” the PKK said at the time.
It also said that the decision could “only be realized” under Ocalan’s “practical leadership.”
In its May 12 statement, the group reiterated its decision “to dissolve the PKK and end the method of armed struggle,” calling instead for a “period of democratic struggle” and “construction of a democratic society.”
Ocalan, 75, founded the Marxist-leaning PKK in 1978 with the stated aim of creating a Kurdish state in the region. The group later moderated its stance, calling for Kurdish autonomy in southeastern Turkey.
Since 1999, Ocalan has been held by the Turkish authorities at an island prison near Istanbul. Nevertheless, he is still widely viewed as the PKK’s de facto leader.
Ankara, Erbil Welcome Move
Omer Celik, spokesman for Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party, described the PKK’s decision “to dissolve itself and lay down its arms” as “an important step toward a terror-free Turkey,” according to Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency.“If the new PKK decision is fully implemented—shutting down all PKK branches [and] illegal structures—it will be a turning point,” he said.
“In this way, a positive momentum will emerge to block the imperialist plans that use terrorist organizations in our region as proxies for war,” the spokesman said, presumably a reference to the U.S.-backed YPG in Syria.
Nechirvan Barzani, head of northern Iraq’s Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), also hailed the decision, saying it promised to open “a new chapter in the region.”
He also stressed the KRG’s support for the nascent Turkey–PKK peace process, which he described as a “historic opportunity.”
In a sign of the KRG’s good relations with Turkey’s government, Barzani also thanked Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for his efforts to secure a cease-fire.
