PKK Kurdish terror group ends 40-year war with Turkey
A Kurdish militant group that has waged a 40-year insurgency against the Turkish state has agreed to lay down its arms and dissolve.
The announcement by the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) followed its jailed leader, Abdullah Ocalan, urging the group to disband two months ago saying there was no longer any reason for its armed struggle.
More than 40,000 people have been killed since the PKK – designated a terrorist group by Turkey and its Western allies – launched its insurgency in 1984.
The move could end one of Turkey's most persistent security problems and have far-reaching consequences across the region on other Kurdish militias, particularly in Syria where they are allied with US forces.
The decision, analysts say, is likely a response to Turkey successfully battering PKK's strongholds in northern Iraq as well as Kurdish militias in north-eastern Syria.
Turkey has repeatedly bombarded PKK strongholds in northern Iraq, as well as Kurdish militias in north-eastern Syria.
The PKK's original aim was to create an independent state for the Kurdish minority, who make up about 20 per cent of Turkey's population.
However, it has more recently turned its attention to fighting for greater rights for Kurds within the country.
In a statement on Monday, the PKK said it had 'brought the Kurdish issue to the point of resolution through democratic politics, thus completing its historical mission'.
The group, which has been isolated to the mountains of northern Iraq, added that Ocalan should lead the process and Turkey's parliament.
Ocalan, 77, who has been imprisoned on an island off Istanbul since 1999, had urged his fighters to hold a congress to formalise the decision at the end of February.
Days later, the PKK's leadership accepted his call, declared a unilateral ceasefire amid signals from Turkey's government that suggested Ocalan could be granted parole.
Terror-free Turkey
In a speech on Saturday, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey's president, hinted that news about a dissolution was imminent, adding that his government was determined to 'save our country from the scourge of terrorism'.
'We are advancing with firm steps on the path to the goal of a terror-free Turkey,' he said.
Omer Celik, a spokesperson for Mr Erdogan's AK Party said on Monday the PKK's decision to dissolve was an important step towards a 'terror-free Turkey' that the disbanding process would be meticulously monitored.
Burcu Ozcelik, a senior research fellow for Middle East security at Royal United Services Institute, a London-based think tank, called the move a potentially 'hugely significant and historic turning point'.
If the PKK successfully disbands, 'this would be a victory for president Erdogan… who will go down in history as the president who peacefully resolved a four decades-long insurgency and armed conflict.'
The PKK's decision is likely to give Mr Erdogan a domestic boost and the opportunity to bring peace and development to the mainly Kurdish south-east, where the insurgency has handicapped the regional economy for decades.
Fragile peace talks
However, Ms Ozcelik cautioned that the process towards peace will be fragile.
'If things sour or disintegrate… or Erdogan does not receive sufficient levels of domestic support, then this could backfire.'
Mr Erdogan will need support from Turkey's large Kurdish population to stay in power beyond his term in 2028.
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