PKK fighters disarm in north Iraq ceremony

Militants from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) laid down their weapons in a ceremony in Iraqi Kurdistan, marking the halt of tens of years of armed struggle against the Turkish government, according to The National via The Associated Press on July 11th.

The PKK formally proclaimed in May that it would dissolve, following a public call from imprisoned leader Abdullah Öcalan, finalising peace negotiations with Ankara. The group has been recognised as a terrorist organisation by the US, the EU and Turkey. 

The ceremony took place near Sulaymaniyah in the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Despite the ceremony being largely symbolic and ceremonial, this is seen as a milestone by the group towards complete disarmament. 

Founded in 1978 by Öcalan, the PKK took up its armed struggle in 1984, which brought a series of attacks to Turkey in a conflict that claimed over 40,000 lives. 

However, in May, following requests by Öcalan, who has been serving a life sentence in Turkey since 1999, the PKK stated that it would transition to a non-violent democratic struggle in defence of the rights of Kurdish minorities. 

Limited information has been made public about the ceremony. Some of those who are thought to be attending were several politicians from the People’s Equality and Democracy Party, or DEM.

The Kurdistan Community Union, the umbrella group of many Kurdish political parties, including the PKK, had invitations they issued to local political parties for the ceremony revoked on July 8th due to the “security situation”. 

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) addressed that the disarmament of the PKK would occur “in a matter of days”. Spokesman, Ömer Çelik stressed that the coming days would be “extremely important for a Turkey free of terrorism”. 

In a video message on July 9th, Öcalan promised that the disarmament process would be “implemented swiftly”. He added: “I believe in the power of politics and social peace, not weapons. And I urge you to put this principle into practice.” 

The National via The Associated Press, Maghrebi.org