A group of fighters from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) destroyed their weapons on Friday in a symbolic ceremony near the city of Sulaymaniyah in Iraq’s Kurdistan Region. The move is part of an announced shift by the group away from armed struggle and towards political engagement after decades of conflict with Turkey.
According to local media reports, the ceremony was preceded by a statement confirming the group’s intent to “end the armed struggle and transition to political struggle.” Delegations from Turkey, Europe, Iraq, and the Kurdistan Region attended the event.
On May 12, the PKK announced it would disband its armed wing and lay down arms, responding to a call from its jailed leader Abdullah Öcalan. Öcalan, who has been imprisoned on the Turkish island of Imrali since 1999, issued his appeal on February 27, urging the group to abandon its decades-long insurgency against the Turkish state.
The move marks a significant milestone in indirect negotiations that have been ongoing since October between Öcalan and the Turkish government. Turkey’s pro-Kurdish Equality and Peoples’ Democracy Party (HEDEP) has reportedly played a key role in mediating between Ankara and the imprisoned PKK leader.
Read also: Jailed PKK Leader Presses for Political Path Over Armed Conflict
Earlier this week, on Wednesday, Öcalan appeared in his first video in decades, declaring what he called “the end of the armed struggle against the Turkish state” and urging a full transition to political and democratic action. He said that a broad, responsible committee would be formed within the Turkish parliament to oversee voluntary disarmament, describing this as a critical step toward a sustainable peace process.
Öcalan emphasized that a clear plan for disarmament would help move the peace process forward, ending the armed campaign voluntarily and opening a new phase focused on politics and democracy. He noted that the PKK’s 12th Congress had responded positively to his call, calling it “a historic response.”
