A report by Rudaw, a media outlet based in northern Iraq, says the PKK terrorist group will start laying down arms this week. Quoting sources in the region controlled by Iraq’s Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), Rudaw reported on Monday that the group would hand over weapons as a “gesture of goodwill” in the terror-free Türkiye initiative launched last year.
Devlet Bahçeli, chair of government ally Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), has urged authorities to grant the opportunity to the PKK’s jailed ringleader Abdullah Öcalan to speak at Parliament and call the group to lay down arms. Bahçeli’s landmark call in 2024 evolved into an initiative approved by Öcalan and later the PKK. After talks with lawmakers from Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), Öcalan consented to heed Bahçeli’s call and last February, urged the PKK to end the campaign of violence against Türkiye. In May, the PKK convened a “congress” and announced that it would dissolve itself.
Sources talking to Rudaw said about 20-30 PKK members would attend a ceremony to lay down arms at a date “between July 3 and 10” in Sulaymaniyah, a northern Iraqi city. Media would also be invited to the ceremony. Sulaymaniyah is known as a hotbed of PKK activity, as a local political group that serves as opposition to the KRG’s ruling party, has endorsed its activities. Media reports say PKK terrorists would leave the ceremony unarmed as a “symbol of goodwill and building trust.” The same sources told Rudaw that PKK members would return “to their bases” and would not be “held.” Rudaw also reported that Öcalan would issue a new message within days about the PKK’s dissolution and this would “officially” start the dissolution process.
The terror-free Türkiye initiative was first hinted at by officials, including Bahçeli himself and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, months before the initiative took its present form. Erdoğan and Bahçeli had repeatedly highlighted ensuring Türkiye’s unity and establishment of “a home front” as they cited that Israel sought to expand its conflict with the Palestinians to the wider region and eventually to Türkiye.
Bahçeli’s call was followed by visits of a delegation from the DEM Party to Öcalan in the island prison where he is held in the Marmara Sea.
After decades of military operations to eradicate the group, Türkiye initiated a "reconciliation process" in 2013 in a bid to prevent the PKK from justifying its actions. The process saw the reinstatement of the rights of the Kurdish community, but it ultimately collapsed when the PKK resumed its terror attacks after a brief lull.
The new initiative is expected to move forward this summer, with the PKK handing over arms to authorities in Syria and Iraq in a process that will be overseen by Turkish intelligence. After the handover, PKK members not involved in terrorism will be accepted into Türkiye to serve their sentences, according to the media outlets, while the group’s ringleaders holed up in Iraq will likely leave for third countries, the unconfirmed reports say.
The MHP often highlights unity between the Turkish and Kurdish communities in the country as a way to achieve the initiative. The PKK exploited underprivileged Kurds for decades to justify its attacks targeting everyone, from police and military officers to civilians, including Kurds in the southeast.
The DEM Party seeks what it calls "formalization" of the initiative and insists on the establishment of a parliamentary committee to oversee the plan. Parliament delayed its summer recess last Wednesday, likely to determine the establishment of the said committee, and DEM Party lawmakers met the parliamentary speaker last week on how the initiative would proceed at Parliament. Speaking after their meeting with Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş, the DEM Party lawmaker Pervin Buldan told reporters that they discussed the current stage of the initiative, describing it as a “positive meeting.” Buldan said they were also planning to hold talks with Bahçeli, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Özgür Özel in the coming days to discuss the initiative. Fellow lawmaker Mithat Sancar said Parliament would play a crucial role in the initiative. The DEM Party pursues greater transparency in the initiative, while the government favors a cautious approach, as earlier attempts to dissolve the PKK without a strictly military approach have failed. The DEM Party, which has intricate links with the terrorist group, also aims to ensure accountability for the initiative, which was mostly based on informal steps so far, as the terrorist group, naturally, is not recognized as “a party” to an agreement, in accordance with Türkiye’s refusal to negotiate with terrorist groups.
