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Newsweek
6 days ago
- Politics
- Newsweek
As PKK Lays Down Arms, Iraq Emerges As Power Broker
Advocates for ideas and draws conclusions based on the interpretation of facts and data. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. At the entrance to a cave northwest of Sulaymaniyah in Iraq's Kurdistan Region, PKK fighters threw their weapons into a fire in a ceremony that marked the end of their decades-long armed struggle against the Turkish state. The symbolic act followed the group's public announcement of disarmament and was attended by representatives of most Kurdish factions. Since 1984, the PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party) has waged an insurgency against the Turkish state that has cost over 40,000 lives and transformed borderlands into militarized zones. Now, with incarcerated PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan's blessing—and a surprising political overture from Turkey's far right—the PKK has unilaterally moved to disarm. Last October, Devlet Bahçeli, leader of the far right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and a close ally of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, stunned observers by suggesting in Parliament that Öcalan could be considered for parole if he formally renounced violence and dismantled the PKK. A fighter with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) puts his weapon into a pit during a ceremony in Sulaymaniyah, in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region, on July 11, 2025. A fighter with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) puts his weapon into a pit during a ceremony in Sulaymaniyah, in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region, on July 11, 2025. SHWAN MOHAMMED/AFP via Getty Images Iraq was a significant behind-the-scenes mediator and its involvement may prove decisive in determining whether this will bring a permanent end to a decades-long conflict. Concerns center on interference from remaining factions unimpressed by the terms, or by regional spoilers. For now, however, arrangements seem to be holding as all sides work to reach a final agreement. Iraqi Mediation The move was welcomed in Iraq, where Turkish cross-border operations against the PKK had long provoked public anger in a country fiercely protective of its sovereignty and deeply resentful of foreign incursions. With the PKK now signaling demobilization, Baghdad sees an opportunity to reassert authority in the north, ease regional tensions, and reestablish security—especially with elections in November, where the government is eager to project stability and assertiveness. A statement issued by Iraq's President Abdul Latif Rashid on the PKK's disarmament called it "an important and historic step toward ending decades of armed conflict and repeated security violations that have cost countless civilian lives," adding that it "paves the way for a more stable and secure future, strengthening the prospects for peace and constructive cooperation across the region." In recent weeks, Turkish delegations have held consultations with President Rashid and other Iraqi officials to ensure his close involvement in the process, aiming to coordinate with all key stakeholders in Iraq, including both Kurdish and Iraqi intelligence services, as well as political and tribal factions, during what is seen as a critical three-to-four month window. The stakes are high. As one senior Turkish official put it: "If anything happens in this window—anything—it can derail everything." Not the First Time Across the board there is palpable—if guarded—optimism that the process will not be interrupted. This isn't the first time the PKK has declared a ceasefire. A similar peace deal was announced in 2013, but collapsed in 2015 amid renewed violence and a surge in Turkish ultranationalism. What distinguishes this attempt, however, is how it has been framed both to PKK cadres and to the broader public, not as a surrender, but as a negotiated agreement. While the terms of the deal have not been made public, the deal calls for a mutual transition rather than unilateral capitulation. But for some, the opacity surrounding the process is cause for alarm. There's no roadmap, no amnesty law, and no clarity on what Öcalan may have been promised. That ambiguity feeds both hope and skepticism. Still, Erdoğan's speech following the PKK's symbolic disarmament ceremony surprised even skeptical Kurds, as it appeared to embrace the vision of Kurds as equal partners within the Turkish state, reviving the kind of grand, unifying narrative that has long been absent from Turkish politics. "When we—Turks, Kurds and Arabs—formed an alliance, the thunder of our horses brought cool breezes from the Chinese Sea to the Adriatic," Erdoğan said to AK Party members. "Remember ... from the galloping of our horses, peace spread across the lands." The Hard Work of Peace With clear political reforms insofar as language rights, cultural protections, and inclusive political representation, disarmament has the potential to be transformative rather than merely symbolic. Whether Iraq can seize this moment to reaffirm its sovereignty, strengthen internal cohesion, and burnish its credentials as a credible mediator will determine if it can step beyond the role of a battleground for others' conflicts and emerge as a stabilizing force in the region's long and difficult path to peace. The PKK disarmament, despite the risks, is one of the few bright spots in today's Middle East. From Tehran to Tel Aviv, the region is encountering greater instability than ever before. Between Israel's bombing of Gaza, Syria, and Iran, and the ongoing humanitarian disasters in both Gaza and Yemen, it is hard to find any evidence of promise. While it may be too early to rule out interference by some minor groups, the PKK-Turkey agreement may be the one glimmer of hope in the region. It will remain incumbent upon Turkey, the PKK, and Iraq to remain committed to the just and peaceful ending of the 40-year conflict. Tanya Goudsouzian is a Canadian journalist based in Baghdad. She has covered the Middle East and Afghanistan since 2000. The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.
The Guardian
12-05-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Kurdish militants PKK to disarm after decades of attacks against Turkey
A Kurdish militant group whose attacks and insurgency against Turkey have spanned more than four decades has declared it will disarm and disband, after a call from its jailed leader earlier this year. The Kurdistan Workers' party (PKK) announced the decision to dissolve its guerrilla forces, heeding a watershed announcement from Abdullah Öcalan three months ago. Leaders of the militia group, which is regarded as a terrorist organisation in Turkey, the UK and the US, said their armed insurgency had 'brought the Kurdish issue to the point of resolution through democratic politics, and in this regard the PKK has completed its historical mission.' The announcement that the militia will end decades of fighting will affect forces based near Turkey's borders with Iraq and Iran, as well as allied or splinter groups in north-east Syria. Despite the PKK announcement of a 'new phase', the decision to disarm and dissolve appeared to be unilateral, with few public indications about authorities in Ankara offering dialogue. The decision follows months of outreach to Kurdish political leaders in Turkey by the nationalist politician Devlet Bahçeli, a coalition partner of the president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's Justice and Development party (AKP). Local reports suggest Bahçeli has sought pathways to extend Erdoğan's rule beyond two presidential terms through bolstering support from the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Equality and Democracy (DEM) party. The AKP spokesperson Ömer Çelik welcomed the PKK decision with caution. 'If the latest PKK decision is fully implemented, shutting down all of its branches and structures, it will be a turning point,' he said. The PKK leadership called their decision to halt armed struggle 'a solid foundation for lasting peace and a democratic solution' and reiterated calls for Öcalan to be freed in order to oversee the group's dissolution. The Kurdish leader has been held on an island prison off the coast of Istanbul since he was captured by Turkish forces in Kenya in 1999. Founded in 1978, the PKK led an armed insurgency primarily targeting Turkish military infrastructure, seeking greater recognition and independence for Kurdish communities in Turkey's south-east. Amnesty International accused the group of harming rural Kurdish communities due to its activities in the 1990s. Tens of thousands of people are estimated to have been killed in the fighting with Turkish forces since the PKK officially began an armed insurgency in 1984, according to the International Crisis Group. The ICG found that in the year that followed the breakdown of the last ceasefire between the PKK and Turkey in 2015, more than 1,700 were killed including civilians, Kurdish fighters and members of the Turkish armed forces. The PKK's decision to disband has further isolated allied Kurdish fighting forces in north-east Syria. The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) remain under increasing pressure to integrate into Syria's new military after the collapse of the regime of Bashar al-Assad last year and the withdrawal of hundreds of supporting American troops from areas in the north-east under their control. The SDF commander-in-chief, Mazloum Abdi, signed a deal with the new authorities in Damascus in March to merge SDF-led institutions into those of the fledgling Syrian state. Abdi previously dismissed any suggestion that the PKK's dissolution would affect his forces, saying: 'To be clear, this only concerns the PKK and is nothing related to us here in Syria.'
