The Kurdish militant group PKK announced on Monday that it would undress and disarm itself as part of a new peace initiative with Turkiye, ending four decades of armed conflict.
The decision of the Kurdistan workers’ party, which promises to end one of the longest insurrections in the Middle East and could have a significant impact on Turkiye, Syria and Iraq, was announced by the Firat news agency, a media close to the group. It happens a few days after the PKK summoned a party congress in northern Iraq.
In February, the PKK chief Abdullah Ocalan, who has been imprisoned on an island near Istanbul since 1999, urged his group to convene a congress and officially decide to dissolve.
The 76 -year -old Ocalan call, which continues to circumvent a significant influence in the Kurdish movement despite its 25 -year imprisonment, has marked a central stage towards the end of the decades conflict which has won tens of thousands of lives since the 1980s.
Based on the momentum, the PKK announced a unilateral ceasefire on March 1, but attached conditions, including the creation of a legal framework for peace negotiations.
The conflict between Turkiye and the PKK spread in northern Iraq and northern Syria, Turkiye making many incursions in neighboring regions. The PKK is listed as a terrorist group by Turkiye and its Western allies.
PKK says the group has completed its “historic mission”
In a press release made by Firat News, the PKK announced its decision to end its “organizational structure”, suggesting that its armed struggle managed to challenge policies which aimed to suppress Kurdish rights.
The Congress evaluated that the PKK struggle had “brought the Kurdish question to the point of resolution through democratic policy, thus ending its historical mission”, according to the press release.
“Consequently, the activities carried out under the name of” PKK “have been officially terminated,” the statement said.
Turkiye’s ruling party praised the announcement “as an important step towards the objective of a turkey without terrorism”.
“If terrorism is completely eradicated, it will open the door to a new era,” wrote Omer Celik, spokesperson for President Recep Erdogan, on the social media platform X.
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Turkiye officially changed its name internationally recognized in 2022, but the spelling of Türkiye and Turkiye remain common as this change is implemented.
Turkiye says that the decision should apply to all PKK affiliates
Celik, however, said that the decision should apply to all “PKK branches, affiliated and illegal structures”. He did not develop, but the declaration seemed to be in reference to the Kurdish fighters in Syria, who have links with the PKK and were involved in intense fights with forces supported by the turquies on the ground.
The head of the Syrian Democratic Forces led by the United States has already declared that the call of Ocalan to a cease-fire does not apply to his group in Syria.
The details of the peace initiative were not made public and it was not clear how the process would take place, including how weapons would be eliminated and which would monitor the procedures.
The future of PKK fighters remains uncertain, especially if they can be moved to third countries. Any concession that the PKK could obtain in exchange for its decision to dissolve has not been disclosed.
Some analysts have suggested that the Kurdish movement could potentially receive certain political concessions, including the improvement of Ocalan prison conditions, the liberation or the amnesty for the Kurdish politicians imprisoned, in particular Selahattin Demirtas, the former leader of the country’s pro-Kurdish party, and the guarantees against the Kurdish mayors of the rejection of his functions.
The previous peace efforts between Turkiye and the group – more recently in 2015 – ended with failure.
Dozens of people gathered on Monday in front of a mosque in the mainly Kurdish city of Diyarbakir, celebrating the announcement with a traditional Kurdish dance.
Why does the peace initiative occur now?
In recent years, the PKK has limited itself to isolated attacks inside Turkiye while the Turkish army, supported by armed drones, has increasingly pushed the PKK insurgents through the mountainous border in Iraq.
The latest peace initiative was launched in October by the partner of the Erdogan coalition, Devlet Bahceli, a far -right politician who suggested that Colalan could be granted a parole if his group renounces violence and dissbabilities.
Some believe that the main objective of the effort of reconciliation is that the government of Erdogan collects Kurdish support for a new constitution which would allow it to stay in power beyond 2028, at the end of its mandate.
Bahceli has openly called for a new constitution, saying that it is essential for the future of Turkiye that Erdogan remains in power. Erdogan and Bahceli would ask for parliamentary support from the Party of Equality and Democracy of the Pro-Kurdish people, or DEM.
The PKK declaration could mark a major gain for Erdogan, whose government is struggling with political tensions after the arrest of the mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem Imamoglu, on corruption accusations. Many see the imprisonment of the mayor, who is the strongest challenger of the opposition to the rule of more than two decades of Erdogan, as politically motivated. The government insists that the Turkiye’s judicial system operates independently.
Sinan Ulgen, director of Edam’s think tank, based in Istanbul, cited national and international pilots for the new peace initiative.
“The domestic driver can be explained by Erdogan’s aspiration to obtain additional support in Parliament in order to pave the way for his potential candidacy for the next series of presidential elections,” said Ulgen.
International, Ulgen said, factors such as the change of administration in Syria and the weakening of Iran after being targeted by Israel, had left the PKK “more vulnerable than in the past”.
“This does not mean that the road is away from all obstacles,” added Ulgen, warning possible divisions within the PKK.
“We have seen this kind of dynamic in the world,” said Ulgen. “Whether IRA or other entities that have decided to sleep arms, there is the prospect of a split, a wing being in accordance with the objective, but the most radical wing continuing with the fight.”
