Members of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), a militant organization that has been engaged in a violent war with Turkey for over 40 years, said on Monday that it has chosen to dissolve and put an end to its military fight. The PKK began its insurgency in 1984 with the intention of establishing an independent Kurdish state. Since then, the struggle has claimed over 40,000 lives, caused significant economic hardship, and heightened social tensions.
The decision made by the PKK at a congress last week may improve the political and economic stability of NATO member Turkey and spur efforts to reduce tensions in Syria and Iraq, where Kurdish troops are allies of American forces.
President Tayyip Erdogan described the decision as an “important threshold” toward Ankara’s aim of a nation free of terrorism and said it was a significant step in the right direction during a cabinet meeting in Ankara.
“With terror and violence being completely disengaged, the doors of a new era in every area, namely strengthening politics and democratic capacity, will be opened,”
he said.
“The winners will be our people and country, and actually all our siblings in our region,”
he added.
“Our intelligence agency and other authorities will follow the upcoming process closely to avoid any road accidents and to ensure the promises made are kept.”
Will disarmament bring real peace to the region?
The group’s stunning statement coincides with Erdogan’s attempt to take advantage of what he perceives as the weaknesses of associated Kurdish troops in Syria following the overthrow of former President Bashar al-Assad in December by rebels supported by Turkey.
Additionally, it coincides with the group’s deteriorating standing in northern Iraq, where it is headquartered, following its expulsion from Turkey and well beyond its boundaries. Although the decision to disband was hailed by Ankara, peace is not assured. Instead, it opens the door to reaching a complex legal agreement for safely disarming the PKK, which Turkey and its Western allies have classified as a terrorist organization.
The congress was organized by the PKK in response to a February request for disbandment from Abdullah Ocalan, the group’s incarcerated leader who has been detained since 1999 on an island south of Istanbul. On Monday, it stated that he would oversee the procedure. It was unclear, meanwhile, if Ankara approved of Ocalan’s prolonged involvement, which surveys indicate may not be well-liked among Turks. Furthermore, there were no specifics on how the PKK would actually be disarmed and disbanded.
Furthermore, it was uncertain if the procedure would have any impact at all on the Kurdish YPG force in Syria. The YPG, which Turkey views as a PKK branch, is in charge of a U.S.-backed force fighting Islamic State there. In contrast to Ankara’s position, YPG has previously stated that Ocalan’s call did not apply to it. It refrained from commenting on the PKK’s declaration right away.
How might Turkey benefit politically from PKK’s move?
Erdogan will have an opportunity to promote growth in the mostly Kurdish southeast of Turkey, where the insurgency has hampered the local economy for decades, thanks to the disbandment.
According to analysts, Erdogan, who has already made several attempts to bring the conflict to a close, is concentrating on the potential internal political benefits of peace as he seeks to prolong his two-decade rule into 2028 when his current term ends.
The PKK’s decision coincides with political unrest in Turkey: Erdogan’s primary opponent, Ekrem Imamoglu, was imprisoned in March on corruption allegations, causing the biggest demonstrations in the nation’s history.
Following the PKK declaration, the lira remained unchanged at 38.764 to the dollar, although equities listed in Istanbul increased by almost 3%. The news was welcomed by those in Diyarbakir, the main city in the southeast, where many Kurds’ mistrust of the government had undermined hopes for the success of the peace process.
Over the years, there have been sporadic attempts at peace, most notably a truce that lasted from 2013 to 2015 before failing. In addition to allowing Syria’s new government to exert more authority over Kurdish-controlled regions in northern Syria, putting an end to the insurgency would eliminate a persistent hot spot in Kurdish-run, oil-rich northern Iraq.
Devlet Bahceli, Erdogan’s ultra-nationalist ally, made a surprising proposition in October that sparked Ocalan’s call. The United States, the European Union, and Iran and Iraq—both of which have sizable Kurdish populations—had embraced it.
