` tags.
`
The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) has announced its disbandment, stating that its members will now pursue their objectives through political channels.
The PKK has declared that it will dissolve and cease its armed conflict with Türkiye. Ankara acknowledged the announcement as a significant step towards a “terror-free Türkiye” but emphasized the need for the group to fully execute its decision.
The PKK, which has been engaged in an insurgency against Türkiye since 1984, aiming to achieve Kurdish autonomy, decided to cease armed activities during a party congress in early May but only made the decision public on Monday. In a statement, the PKK asserted that it has “elevated the Kurdish issue to a point where it can be resolved through democratic politics, and the PKK has, in that sense, fulfilled its mission.”
This action followed a public appeal in February by PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan, who has been imprisoned in Türkiye since 1999 on charges of separatism, urging the group to disband and adopt nonviolent strategies. In his message to party members, Ocalan stated, “there is no alternative to democracy in the pursuit and realization of a political system.” Subsequently, the PKK declared a unilateral ceasefire.
Omer Celik, the spokesperson for Türkiye’s ruling Justice and Development Party, hailed the decision as “an important stage in terms of the ‘terror-free Türkiye goal”.
“If terrorism is completely eradicated, a new era will commence,” he stated, while also cautioning that “this decision must be implemented in practice and realized in its entirety.” Celik also insisted that the dissolution should extend to “all branches and extensions of the PKK and its illegal structures.”
He appeared to be referencing the Kurdish-led People’s Protection Units (YPG), which Ankara considers to be an extension of the PKK. This group, which is supported by the US and primarily operates in Syria, has yet to comment on the PKK’s decision.
Established in 1978, the PKK initiated an armed insurgency against the Turkish state, initially seeking independence and later autonomy and civil rights for Kurds. Ankara has sought to suppress the group for decades. The conflict has resulted in an estimated 40,000 deaths, many of whom were civilians, and displaced hundreds of thousands in southeastern Türkiye. The group is designated as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the US, and the EU.