PKK disarmament process to begin early July: report
The move comes just six weeks after the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) announced it was ending more than four decades of guerrilla warfare in a conflict that claimed over 40,000 lives.
Turkey's Kurdish minority is hoping the PKK's decision will pave the way for a political settlement with Ankara that will herald a new openness to the Kurds, who make up about 20 percent of Turkey's population of 85 million
Citing two sources in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, Rudaw said the move would be both a "trust-building step" and a "goodwill gesture" to advance the reconciliation process with Turkey.
According to the sources, the ceremony would take place in Sulaimaniyah, Iraqi Kurdistan's second-biggest city.
Most of the PKK's fighters have spent the past decade in the mountains of northern Iraq, where Turkey also maintains military bases and has carried out frequent operations against Kurdish fighters.
"Between July 3 and 10, a group of PKK members, probably numbering between 20 and 30, will lay down their weapons in a ceremony to be held in Sulaimaniyah," Rudaw said.
Return to bases
The sources said jailed PKK founder Abdullah Ocalan was expected to issue a new message regarding the resolution process "in the next few days".
"After that, the disarmament process will officially begin," they said.
The PKK decision was in response to a call in February by Ocalan, who has been serving life on a prison island off Istanbul since 1999.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said he would, in the coming days, meet a delegation from the pro-Kurdish DEM party, which has played a key role in shuttling messages between Ocalan and Ankara.
Quoting one of the sources, Rudaw said that after laying down their weapons, the militants would "then return to their bases, unarmed", denying reports they would be held in certain cities in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
"The guerrillas will return to their bases after disarming. It is out of the question for them to go to any city," the source said.
Until now, there has been little detail about how the dissolution mechanism would work but the Turkish government has said it would carefully monitor the process to ensure full implementation.
© 2025 AFP
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France 24
5 hours ago
- France 24
PKK disarmament process to begin early July: report
The move comes just six weeks after the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) announced it was ending more than four decades of guerrilla warfare in a conflict that claimed over 40,000 lives. Turkey's Kurdish minority is hoping the PKK's decision will pave the way for a political settlement with Ankara that will herald a new openness to the Kurds, who make up about 20 percent of Turkey's population of 85 million Citing two sources in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, Rudaw said the move would be both a "trust-building step" and a "goodwill gesture" to advance the reconciliation process with Turkey. According to the sources, the ceremony would take place in Sulaimaniyah, Iraqi Kurdistan's second-biggest city. Most of the PKK's fighters have spent the past decade in the mountains of northern Iraq, where Turkey also maintains military bases and has carried out frequent operations against Kurdish fighters. "Between July 3 and 10, a group of PKK members, probably numbering between 20 and 30, will lay down their weapons in a ceremony to be held in Sulaimaniyah," Rudaw said. Return to bases The sources said jailed PKK founder Abdullah Ocalan was expected to issue a new message regarding the resolution process "in the next few days". "After that, the disarmament process will officially begin," they said. The PKK decision was in response to a call in February by Ocalan, who has been serving life on a prison island off Istanbul since 1999. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said he would, in the coming days, meet a delegation from the pro-Kurdish DEM party, which has played a key role in shuttling messages between Ocalan and Ankara. Quoting one of the sources, Rudaw said that after laying down their weapons, the militants would "then return to their bases, unarmed", denying reports they would be held in certain cities in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. "The guerrillas will return to their bases after disarming. It is out of the question for them to go to any city," the source said. Until now, there has been little detail about how the dissolution mechanism would work but the Turkish government has said it would carefully monitor the process to ensure full implementation. © 2025 AFP
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Kneecap cause a ruckus As predicted, Kneecap delivered an incendiary set at Glastonbury, on the West Holts stage, to a huge crowd waving countless Palestinian flags. The BBC, the festival's broadcaster partner, said in a statement just hours before the band took to the stage that their set wouldn't be streamed live and would instead be made available as an on-demand version after the end of the gig. Previously, Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch said she thought the BBC "should not be showing" Kneecap's performance at the festival: "The BBC should not be showing Kneecap propaganda. One Kneecap band member is currently on bail, charged under the Terrorism Act. As a publicly funded platform, the BBC should not be rewarding extremism. The trio, DJ Próvaí, Mo Chara and Móglaí Bap, came on stage with screens showing their usual message: 'Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people, aided by the UK government. Free Palestine.' This message was galvanized during the set when the band said: 'There's no f*cking hiding it, Israel are war criminals.' 'Glastonbury, I'm a free man,' also declared Chara, referring to being given unconditional bail from his appearance on his terror charge. 'Mo Chara was in court this month,' said Bap. 'Was anyone there? Mo Chara's in court for a trumped up terrorism charge. It's not the first time there was a miscarriage of justice for an Irish person in the British justice system'. Chara then mentioned Keir Starmer – who argued that it was 'not appropriate' for the band to be playing at Glastonbury: 'The Prime Minister of your country said he didn't want us to play, so f*ck Keir Starmer.' They echoed this sentiment when introducing their fan favourite song 'Get Your Brits Out', with Chara telling the crowd: 'We f*cking love the English people, it's the English government we can't stand. F*ck Keir Starmer.' 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Une publication partagée par @celebrities4palestine The Israeli Embassy to the UK said on social media that it was 'deeply disturbed by the inflammatory and hateful rhetoric expressed on stage at the Glastonbury Festival," while the Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) said it will be formally complaining to the BBC over its "outrageous decision" to broadcast the performance. In a statement, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: "There is no excuse for this kind of appalling hate speech." The Prime Minister also reiterated his previous argument that Kneecap should have been removed from the line-up: "I said that Kneecap should not be given a platform and that goes for any other performers making threats or inciting violence. The BBC needs to explain how these scenes came to be broadcast." Even Emily Eavis posted a response to Bob Vylan's performance. "Their chants very much crossed a line and we are urgently reminding everyone involved in the production of the Festival that there is no place at Glastonbury for antisemitism, hate speech or incitement to violence," she wrote. She added that while "as a festival, we stand against all forms of war and terrorism - we will always believe in - and actively campaign for - hope, unity, peace and love", adding a performer's comments "should never be seen as a tacit endorsement of their opinions and beliefs". Eavis added: "With almost 4,000 performances at Glastonbury 2025, there will inevitably be artists and speakers appearing on our stages whose views we do not share." Une publication partagée par Glastonbury Festival (@glastofest) British Police said that they were assessing footage of the performance to decide whether any offences may have been committed. Who are Bob Vylan? 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