Latest news with #Kurds'
Al-Ahram Weekly
12-07-2025
- Politics
- Al-Ahram Weekly
Erdogan says 'Turkey has won' after Kurdish PKK fighters disarm - Region
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday his country had achieved victory after Kurdish rebels destroyed their weapons, ending their decades-long armed struggle against Ankara. Friday's 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. "Turkey has won. Eighty-six million citizens have won," Erdogan said. "We know what we are doing. Nobody needs to worry or ask questions. We are doing all this for Turkey, for our future". The PKK was formed in 1978 by Ankara University students, with the ultimate goal of achieving the Kurds' liberation through armed struggle. It took up arms in 1984 and the ensuing conflict has cost more than 40,000 lives. Follow us on: Facebook Instagram Whatsapp Short link:
The Hindu
12-07-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Erdogan says 'Turkiye has won' after Kurdish PKK fighters disarm
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday (July 12, 2025)his country had achieved victory after Kurdish rebels destroyed their weapons, ending their decades-long armed struggle against Ankara. Friday's 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. "Turkiye has won. Eighty-six million citizens have won," Mr. Erdogan said. "We know what we are doing. Nobody needs to worry or ask questions. We are doing all this for Turkiye, for our future". The PKK was formed in 1978 by Ankara University students, with the ultimate goal of achieving the Kurds' liberation through armed struggle. It took up arms in 1984 and the ensuing conflict has cost more than 40,000 lives.
Nahar Net
12-07-2025
- Politics
- Nahar Net
Erdogan says 'Turkey has won' after Kurdish PKK fighters disarm
by Naharnet Newsdesk 12 July 2025, 12:26 Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday his country had achieved victory after Kurdish rebels destroyed their weapons, ending their decades-long armed struggle against Ankara. Friday's 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. "Turkey has won. Eighty-six million citizens have won," Erdogan said. "We know what we are doing. Nobody needs to worry or ask questions. We are doing all this for Turkey, for our future". The PKK was formed in 1978 by Ankara University students, with the ultimate goal of achieving the Kurds' liberation through armed struggle. It took up arms in 1984 and the ensuing conflict has cost more than 40,000 lives.
&w=3840&q=100)
First Post
11-07-2025
- Politics
- First Post
From bullets to ballots: Kurdish fighters lay down arms, 5 key things about Turkey-PKK peace deal
The move comes in response to a historic call by jailed PKK founder Abdullah Ocalan in February, urging them to end their decades-long insurgency and embrace democratic means to defend the rights of Turkey's Kurdish minority read more This handout photograph taken and released by Turkish Presidency Press Office on July 7, 2025, shows Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (C), MPs of Turkey's pro-Kurdish Equality and Democracy (DEM) party Pervin Buldan (2nd L) and Mithat Sancar (L), head of Turkish Intelligence Ibrahim Kalin (R) and Justice and Development (AK) Party Deputy Chairman Efkan Ala (2nd R) posing during their meeting at the Presidential Complex in Ankara. AFP Fighters from the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) will start laying down their arms at a ceremony in northern Iraq on Friday, two months after the militant group ended its armed struggle against the Turkish state. The move comes in response to a historic call by jailed PKK founder Abdullah Ocalan in February, urging them to end their decades-long insurgency and embrace democratic means to defend the rights of Turkey's Kurdish minority. Here are five key dates in the history of Ocalan and the PKK, whose violent struggle for a Kurdish homeland sparked a conflict that left more than 40,000 dead: STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 1978-1984: PKK formed, armed struggle begins With Marxist-Leninist roots, the PKK was formed in 1978 by Ankara University students, with the ultimate goal of achieving the Kurds' liberation through armed struggle. They chose Ocalan, a political science student, as leader. A Turkish military coup in 1980 forced the PKK and its leader to flee to Syria and Lebanon. The group then took up the armed struggle in 1984. Its militants trained in Lebanon's Beqaa Valley, east of Beirut, while attacking Turkish military posts and convoys. Turkey hit back, sparking a wave of violence, especially in the Kurdish-majority southeast, that left the region in a state of near-civil war. 1999: Ocalan's arrest Ocalan was forced to leave Syria in 1998 after Ankara threatened Damascus over its backing for the PKK, with the militant leader fleeing between several European states. He was eventually arrested in Kenya on February 15, 1999, flown back to Turkey and sentenced to death. There he was placed in solitary confinement on the Imrali prison island, off the coast of Istanbul. In 2002, his sentence was commuted to life imprisonment when Turkey started the process of abolishing the death penalty as part of reforms backed by the European Union. 2013-2015: Fragile truce Ocalan urged the PKK to lay down their arms in a letter on March 21, 2013, the Kurdish New Year, as part of talks with the government of then-prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is now president. Turkey's National Intelligence Organisation (MIT) had also held talks with the PKK in Oslo. But the truce collapsed in July 2015 after a deadly bomb attack in Suruc, a town near the Syrian border. 2015-2016: Clashes in southeast Turkey bombed PKK targets in Iraq and led a vast military offensive at home. The PKK hit back with 'urban warfare'. There were fierce daily battles in the southeast, including in the city of Diyarbakir, which has left a bitter legacy among the local population. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Ties deteriorated after a failed 2016 coup, with a government crackdown on Kurdish political activities and the arrest of Kurdish politicians. Turkey also deployed troops in northern Syria to protect its frontier. 2024-2025: PKK ends armed struggle After a decade of status quo marked by occasional attacks, a hardline nationalist ally of Erdogan extended Ocalan an olive branch, urging him to renounce violence in a shock move backed by the Turkish leader. Indirect talks facilitated by the pro-Kurdish DEM party began, and on February 27, Ocalan made a historic call, urging his PKK to disband and his fighters to lay down their weapons in favour of a democratic struggle for the rights of Turkey's Kurdish minority.
Shafaq News
25-05-2025
- Politics
- Shafaq News
Leader Barzani to tribal chiefs: Political rifts must not divide communities
Shafaq News/ Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani met, on Sunday, with tribal leaders from central and southern Iraq, underscoring that political disputes should not divide Iraq's communities. According to Barzani's media office, the meeting at Salahuddin resort gathered tribal chiefs, emirs, and prominent figures from across the country. Barzani recalled the Kurds' past suffering under former regimes and stressed that tensions have been with governments—not the Iraqi people, calling for unity, dignity, and development for all provinces. Barzani also warned against 'politicizing essential services,' reiterating that Iraq's stability relies on constitutional principles, consensus, and genuine partnership. In turn, the delegation praised Barzani's leadership, Kurdistan's support for displaced Iraqis, and the Region's stability. It expressed solidarity with Kurdish demands, calling them 'fair and justified.'
