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Newsweek
a day 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.
Al-Ahram Weekly
a day ago
- Politics
- Al-Ahram Weekly
Kurdish farmers return to mountains in peace as PKK tensions calm - Region
Deep in the mountains of Turkey's southeastern Hakkari province, bordering Iran and Iraq, Kurdish livestock owners and farmers have gradually returned with their animals after decades of armed conflict between Kurdish militants and the Turkish army. "We've been coming here for a long time. Thirty years ago, we used to come and go, but then we couldn't come. Now we just started to come again and to bring our animals as we want," said 57-year-old Selahattin Irinc, speaking Kurdish, while gently pressing his hand on a sheep's neck to keep it from moving during shearing. On July 11 a symbolic weapons destruction ceremony in Iraqi Kurdistan marked a major step in the transition of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) from armed insurgency to democratic politics -- part of a broader effort to end one of the region's longest-running conflicts. The PKK, listed as a terror group by Turkey and much of the international community, was formed in 1978 by Ankara University students, with the ultimate goal of achieving the Kurds' liberation. It took up arms in 1984. The conflict has caused 50,000 deaths among civilians and 2,000 among soldiers, according to Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Alongside several other men and women, Irinc practices animal husbandry in the grassy highlands at the foot of the Cilo Mountains and its Resko peak, which stands as the second-highest in the country with an altitude of 4,137 meters (13,572 feet). A place of scenic beauty, with waterfalls, glacial lakes and trekking routes, Cilo has gradually opened its roads over the past few years to shepherds and tourists alike as the armed conflict with PKK died down on the backdrop of peace negotiations. But the picturesque mountains had long been the scene of heavy fighting between the Turkish army and PKK fighters who took advantage of the rough terrain to hide and strike. It left the Kurdish farmers often at odds with the army. "In the past we always had problems with the Turkish soldiers. They accused us of helping PKK fighters by feeding them things like milk and meat from our herd," another Kurdish livestock owner, who asked not to be named, told AFP, rejecting such claims. "Now it's calmer," he added. 'Last generation' Although the peace process brought more openness and ease to the region, tensions did not vanish overnight. Checkpoints remain present around the city of Hakkari, and also to the main access point to the trekking path leading to Cilo glacier, a major tourist attraction. "Life is quite good and it's very beautiful here. Tourists come and stay in the mountains for one or two days with their tents, food, water and so on," said farmer Mahir Irinc. But the mountains are a hard, demanding environment for those making a living in their imposing shadow, and the 37-year-old thinks his generation might be the last to do animal husbandry far away from the city. "I don't think a new generation will come after us. We will be happy if it does, but the young people nowadays don't want to raise animals, they just do whatever job is easier," he lamented. An open truck carrying more than a dozen Kurdish women made its way to another farm in the heart of the mountains, where sheep waited to be fed and milked. The livestock graze at the foot of the mountains for three to four months, while the weather is warm, before being brought back to the village. "We all work here. Mothers, sisters, our whole family. Normally I'm preparing for university, but today I was forced to come because my mother is sick," explained 22-year-old Hicran Denis. "I told my mother: don't do this anymore, because it's so tiring. But when you live in a village, livestock is the only work. There's nothing else," she said. Follow us on: Facebook Instagram Whatsapp Short link:
Rudaw Net
2 days ago
- Politics
- Rudaw Net
Erdogan commends Ocalan's support for peace process
Also in Turkey Erdogan will not seek Turkey-Iraq oil export deal renewal: Gazette PKK says no more disarmament until Ankara enacts reforms Turkish parties discuss forming PKK peace commission in parliament Parents find missing daughter during PKK disarmament ceremony A+ A- ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday praised the jailed leader of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) for his continued support for peace talks between the Kurdish group and Ankara. Erdogan also noted progress in ongoing efforts to establish a parliamentary commission to bring the matter before the legislature. 'We are determined to build a terrorism-free future. We are clear about what we will do to reach our goal, how we will achieve it, and where we will ultimately end up,' Erdogan told journalists on Monday. 'Imrali has provided and continues to provide all kinds of support on this issue. This aspect is very important,' the Turkish leader added, referring to the PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan, who has been jailed at Imrali prison since 1999. On May 12, the PKK announced its dissolution and intention to disarm after being urged to do so by their founder Ocalan who said it was time to take the struggle for Kurdish rights into the political sphere. The PKK has declared a unilateral ceasefire and on July 11 had a ceremonial disarmament where 30 fighters, including commanders, burned their weapons. Erdogan also said that they are following the PKK disarmament process, adding that the negotiations to form a parliamentary commission to address the peace process, or what Ankara calls terror-free Turkey, have 'reached the final stage. You will soon see progress at the parliamentary level.' The peace process will be guided by the parliamentary commission. Representatives of the parliamentary bloc of Turkey's political parties met with the parliament speaker on Friday and the commission will be formed within days. The commission has broad political support, except from the ultranationalist IYI Party. Cemil Bayik, co-chair of the executive council of PKK umbrella group the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK), said in a recent interview with PKK media that the commission's sole purpose cannot be disarmament of the PKK. 'If the PKK armed itself, it wasn't because they wanted to use weapons. The Turkish state, through its policies and practices, forced them to do so. That's why the armed movement developed. If they don't want an armed movement, they need to change their policies. Only then will the problem be solved. The issue of weapons alone won't solve the problem,' he said. He also warned that the group will not commit to further disarmament until Turkey makes legal reforms to address discrimination of its Kurdish population, and if Ankara fails to take action, then other groups will emerge and pick up the fight. Devlet Bahceli, the initiator of the nascent peace process and leader of Turkey's Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), has said that a Kurd and an Alevi could serve as vice presidents of the country - a statement he reiterated on Monday. 'Both Alevis and Kurds are ours,' he said. 'We are one, we are together, we are brothers, we are a very large family.'
Rudaw Net
4 days ago
- Politics
- Rudaw Net
PKK says no more disarmament until Ankara enacts reforms
Also in Turkey Turkish parties discuss forming PKK peace commission in parliament Parents find missing daughter during PKK disarmament ceremony Erdogan expects 'concrete' steps on commission overseeing peace with PKK KCK co-chair's mother longs for daughter's return A+ A- ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A senior commander of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) said the group will not commit to further disarmament until Turkey makes legal reforms to address discrimination of its Kurdish population, and if Ankara fails to take action, then other groups will emerge and pick up the fight. 'Unless the Kurdish issue is removed from the realm of war, the ongoing struggle will only yield little results, but many groups will continue to perpetuate themselves through this war in Kurdistan,' Cemil Bayik, co-chair of the executive council of PKK umbrella group the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK), said during an interview with the PKK-affiliated Sterk TV that aired on Friday. On May 12, the PKK announced its dissolution and intention to disarm after being urged to do so by their founder Abdullah Ocalan who said it was time to take the struggle for Kurdish rights into the political sphere. Bayik said one of the PKK's specific demands of Turkey is to allow Ocalan to work and communicate freely. The PKK's leader has been jailed in isolation on Imrali island since 1999. The group is also demanding the Turkish government 'develops freedom laws, develops democratic integration laws,' he added. Once that is accomplished, then the PKK will lay down its weapons. 'As long as this doesn't happen, no one can ask us to lay down our arms,' Bayik said. The PKK has declared a unilateral ceasefire and on July 11 had a ceremonial disarmament where 30 fighters, including commanders, burned their weapons. Bayik said they opted to burn the guns for several reasons. First, to make a symbolic gesture in the face of an increasing number of arms worldwide and the threat of conflict in the Middle East. Second, because the PKK doesn't want to 'fight or use weapons again. That's why the Turkish state needs to develop a legal basis. If it does, we don't want to use weapons again.' And third, the weapons were burned in line with Kurdish cultural traditions around fire. 'Kurds have a culture in their history; fire represents enlightenment, innovation, and new breakthroughs,' he said. Ankara has demanded full disarmament of the PKK. The spokesperson for the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), Omer Celik, has said that all PKK fighters must lay down their arms within months. Parvin Buldan, a member of the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) and one of the team that has been leading peace negotiations, said that there is no timeline for the PKK's disarmament 'because we cannot solve a 50-year problem in two or three months.' Bayik said that additional disarmament beyond the ceremony that took place this month will not happen until Turkey makes legal and political reforms. The peace process will be guided by a parliamentary commission that is in the process of being established. Representatives of the parliamentary bloc of Turkey's political parties met with the parliament speaker on Friday and the commission will be formed within days. The commission has broad political support, except from the ultranationalist IYI Party. Bayik expressed reservations about the mandate of the commission, saying that its sole purpose cannot be disarmament. 'If the PKK armed itself, it wasn't because they wanted to use weapons. The Turkish state, through its policies and practices, forced them to do so. That's why the armed movement developed. If they don't want an armed movement, they need to change their policies. Only then will the problem be solved. The issue of weapons alone won't solve the problem,' he said. Kurds have been discriminated against under successive Turkish governments. At times, their language has been banned and their ethnicity denied. Today, many Kurdish politicians are in jail on vague terror-related charges. 'This movement [the PKK] has a single goal: freedom, democracy, and socialism. It was founded on this foundation when it was founded, and it continues to operate on this foundation,' said Bayik. 'This movement will never surrender.'
Shafaq News
15-07-2025
- Politics
- Shafaq News
PKK disarmament rewrites Kurdish future
Shafaq News – Al-Sulaymaniyah The Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) has taken a historic step in ending its decades-long armed conflict with the Turkish state, laying down arms in a ceremony held on July 11 in Al-Sulaymaniyah, within Iraq's Kurdistan Region. According to a report by The Conversation, this public transition from militancy to politics could redefine Kurdish aspirations, offering a new model of political engagement for one of the world's largest stateless populations. The PKK disarmament ceremony also could mark a new era for the Kurds, one of the largest stateless groups in the world with over 30 million people living across Turkiye, Iraq, Iran and Syria. In a symbolic gesture of reconciliation, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan publicly acknowledged past state abuses against the Kurds, including forced displacement and extrajudicial violence. Analysts say the Kurdish political movement is unlikely to fade; instead, it may become more active in democratic arenas across the region.
