First group of Kurdish PKK members burns weapons as a symbol of peace with Turkey
The group of 30 PKK members went to a cave near Sulaymaniyah, Iraq, and put their weapons into a fire. It was the first ceremony of its kind for the organization, and more are expected to happen all summer. The Turkish government has said the ceremony is crossing a "critical threshold" toward a "terror-free Turkey."
PKK, or the Kurdistan Workers' Party, is considered a terrorist group by Turkey, the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom and others. It formed as a response to poor treatment of Kurds in Turkey and demanded an independent Kurdistan, Kurdish language education and more.
More than 40,000 people have died in the four decades-long conflict.
"We voluntarily destroy our weapons, before your presence, as a step of goodwill and determination," the PKK said in a statement. The group included 15 men and 15 women.
Witnesses included officials from Turkey's National Intelligence Organization, Iraqi officials, security forces and officials from Iraq's Kurdish Regional Government, members of the Turkish People's Democratic Party (Dem), and some from non-governmental organizations.
PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan, long imprisoned by Turkey, said it was "a voluntary transition from the phase of armed conflict to the phase of democratic politics and law."
Ocalan has been imprisoned on the island of Imrali near Istanbul since 1999. He's been kept in solitary confinement.
Devlet Bahceli, a nationalist leader in Turkey and ally of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, started working to create a "terror-free Turkey" in October 2024. He pushed Ocalan to call for the dissolution of the PKK. The Turkish government began negotiations with Ocalan with the help of the Dem party, which is pro-Kurd. In February, Ocalan appealed to the group to disband in a letter that two Dem MPs read out after visiting the prison.
"All groups must lay their arms and the PKK must dissolve itself," Ocalan's letter said.
Copyright 2025 UPI News Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
UPI
41 minutes ago
- UPI
Trump announces creation of 'AI economy' during innovation summit
July 15 (UPI) -- Pennsylvanians and the nation will benefit from $100 billion in energy- and artificial intelligence-related investments announced on Tuesday to energize the nation's growing AI economy. The investments should create tens of thousands of new jobs for Pennsylvanians in the energy and AI sectors while helping the United States improve its economy and global AI standing, President Donald Trump said during Tuesday's inaugural Pennsylvania Energy and Innovation Summit in Pittsburgh. "We're here today because we believe America's destiny is to dominate every industry and be the first in every technology," Trump told attendees. "That includes being the world's No. 1 superpower in artificial intelligence," he added. The president said the United States is "way ahead of China" in AI development and has many plants under construction. "China and other countries are racing to catch up to America having to do with AI," Trump said. "We're not going to let them do it," he said. "We have the great chips [and] the great everything." Trump said the United States is "going to be fighting them in a very friendly fashion," adding that he and Chinese President Xi Jinping have a "great relationship." "Remaining the world's leader in AI will require an enormous increase in energy production," Trump told the audience. He said "clean, beautiful coal" and oil production will be a key element in producing more electrical power to support AI endeavors in the United States and to stay ahead of China in AI development. More than $56 billion in new energy infrastructure and $36 billion in new data projects were announced on Tuesday, the president said. A $15 billion investment by Knighthead Capital Management will create the largest natural gas-fired power generation plant in North America in Homer City, Pa. Google also is investing "billions and billions" to revitalize two hydropower facilities in the commonwealth, Trump added. Westinghouse officials also have announced that the company will build several nuclear power plants throughout the nation to ensure the AI economy has ample energy available. "A lot more than that will be announced in the coming weeks and months," Trump added. The president said 20 "leading technology and energy companies" are poised to invest in Pennsylvania to develop an AI economy that utilizes the commonwealth's energy and technology assets, CBS News reported. Many firms are investing elsewhere in the country, too, in order to support the nation's AI economy, according to the New York Post. Trump spoke for about 30 minutes during the hour-long Pennsylvania Energy and Innovation Summit, which was organized by Sen Dave McCormick, R-Pa., and held on the campus of Carnegie Mellon University. Pennsylvania's Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro and others joined Trump and McCormick to discuss energy matters and the growth of AI in the United States.
Boston Globe
2 hours ago
- Boston Globe
In court testimony, Boston ICE official recalls pressure from above to arrest Rümeysa Öztürk
'We made it a priority,' Cunningham said. He also testified that, in the months after President Trump was inaugurated in January, Homeland Security Investigations has been prioritizing immigration arrests more than before, and that 'the prioritization of that work has certainly increased.' The testimony took place during the seventh day of trial in a lawsuit brought by higher education organizations, including the American Association of University Professors, over the Trump administration's policies of arresting and detaining noncitizen students and others engaged in pro-Palestinian activism. Advertisement Öztürk was US District Judge William G. Young will decide whether the lawsuit plaintiffs proved their claims that the administration's effort to revoke the visas of pro-Palestinian protesters and deport them is a violation of their First Amendment rights and the Administrative Procedure Act. Advertisement In court on Tuesday, multiple top ICE officials from the Boston, New England, New York and Washington D.C. offices of Homeland Security Investigations said that in the past six months under Trump, they were told to prioritize immigration enforcement cases, as opposed to criminal cases, which they had previously focused on in the past. Cunningham acknowledged that prior to this change, he largely had no experience with these kinds of cases. Cunningham consulted with an attorney from ICE's Office of the Principal Legal Advisor prior to Öztürk's arrest, to make sure that the agency was on 'solid legal ground' in the operation, he said. Last week, Peter Hatch, an assistant director of an ICE intelligence office, testified that analysts were directed to look at a pro-Israel website for leads on investigating protesters because it contained more than 5,000 names of people who publicly supported the Palestinian cause. The team looking into the protesters was internally referred to as Tiger Team, Hatch said. Hatch disclosed that the agency An attorney for the plaintiffs displayed in court a report on Öztürk, titled 'Report of Analysis,' which was ICE's subject profile of Öztürk. It was the first time the report, which was only partially unveiled, had been disclosed. Advertisement On Tuesday, Cunningham, who said he supervised Öztürk's arrest, told the court that he received an email which included a memo from the Department of State as an attachment, which said that Öztürk's visa had been revoked. The email also included a copy of an op-ed Öztürk co-wrote in the student newspaper calling on Tufts to divest from companies with ties to Israel. He could not remember receiving a similar communication in his time at HSI, he testified. He said that 'there were a lot of hands in fishbowl' in planning for and carrying out the arrest. In response to questions, Cunningham said he did not see anything in the op-ed that indicated evidence of a crime. Michael Tremonte, an attorney for the plaintiffs, asked Cunningham if there had been a decision made by top officials to keep Öztürk's visa's revocation a secret from her. 'We did not plan on alerting her to the fact that her visa had been revoked,' Cunningham responded. On Friday, John Armstrong, a top official in the Bureau of Consular Affairs, which is part of the state department, also testified that Öztürk was not informed that her visa was being revoked, on guidance from ICE officials. 'ICE had made a request that we not inform so that they could take action to remove Ms. Öztürk from the United States,' Armstrong said. Armstrong said that the state department typically lets visa holders know that their visa is being revoked. Cunningham testified that he was the agent who signed the arrest warrant for ICE to ultimately apprehend Öztürk, and that the cause for her arrest was her visa revocation. which would make her in violation of immigration law. Advertisement During Cuningham's testimony, Young, the judge, noted that 'not everyone who has their visa revoked is arrested.' 'I don't think it's at issue whether there was legal authority to take Ms. Öztürk into custody,' Young said. 'The question is a broader question as to the reasons for all that.' Young said that he was in possession of various documents related to Öztürk's arrest, but that he could not share them with the plaintiffs — along with some documents related to other arrests of students by ICE — because a federal appeals court has ordered they remain sealed, while weighing a petition by the government to declare them privileged information. On Tuesday, several other ICE agents who were involved in the arrests of students who had expressed Pro-Palestinian views testified, including agents who planned the apprehension of Mahmoud Khalil in New York, Mohsen Mahdawi in Vermont, and Badar Khan Suri, a postdoctoral scholar and professor at Georgetown University. The agents testified that supervisors had conveyed to them that the Department of State notified their offices that these scholars were in violation of immigration law, and that resources should be swiftly allocated to locate and eventually arrest them. Shelley Murphy of the Globe staff and Globe correspondent Angela Mathew contributed to this report. Giulia McDonnell Nieto del Rio can be reached at
New York Post
2 hours ago
- New York Post
Rep. Elise Stefanik skewers CUNY chancellor, calls for his ouster over ‘failed' leadership on NYC campus antisemitism
New York Rep. Elise Stefanik skewered the head of CUNY — calling on him to resign for 'failing Jewish students' and for flunking his House testimony Tuesday on combating campus antisemitism. The Republican congresswoman zeroed in on Chancellor Félix Matos Rodríguez over the hiring of a chief diversity officer who previously worked for a pro-Hamas, Israel-bashing group — saying that if the CUNY boss doesn't step down, Gov. Kathy Hochul should bounce him. 'You have failed the people of New York. You have failed Jewish students in New York State, and it is a disgrace,' Stefanik — who is mulling a run for governor against Hochul next year — told the chancellor during the House Education & Workforce Committee hearing. Advertisement 7 Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., questions the panel of witnesses during a House Committee on Education and Workforce Committee hearing on 'Antisemitism in Higher Education: Examining the Role of Faculty, Funding, and Ideology' on Capitol Hill, Tuesday, July 15, 2025, in Washington. AP She grilled Matos Rodríguez about CUNY's hiring of Saly Abd Alla, who had previously been employed as a civil rights director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, which supports the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel. 'I was not directly responsible for that hire,' Matos Rodríguez, who has overseen CUNY's 26 degree-granting institutions since 2019, insisted when asked if he was aware of Abd Alla's previous employer. Advertisement CAIR was named as an unindicted co-conspirator in the Holy Land Foundation case involving the funneling over $12 million to Hamas, Stefanik noted. 'You hired Abd Alla as CUNY's chief diversity officer, and this role includes overseeing antisemitism complaints and initiatives. Were you aware at that time that this senior administrator that you hired was previously employed by CAIR?' Stefanik asked. Matos Rodríguez said Abd Alla was hired to be the chief diversity officer 'at the central office with no responsibility over cases that have to deal with students or faculty.' 7 Pro-Palestine demonstrators wave the Palestinian flag and hold a banner outside of the office of the City University of New York. Jimin Kim/SOPA Images/Shutterstock Advertisement 'Let me remind you, CAIR was a co-conspirator in the terrorist financing case and has ties to Hamas, a designated terrorist organization,' Stefanik continued, adding, 'Is she currently still employed by CUNY?' 'She is,' Matos Rodríguez replied. 'So, no action, just words here today,' Stefanik said. Stefanik also asked Matos Rodríguez if he knew that law professor Ramzi Kassem, the head of CUNY Law School's legal clinic, Creating Law Enforcement Accountability & Responsibility or CLEAR, was representing Mahmoud Khalil, the anti-Israel Columbia University protester who was detained by the Trump administration. Advertisement 'CUNY CLEAR. I'm not familiar with them,' Matos Rodríguez said. 7 Stefanik also asked Matos Rodríguez if he knew that law professor Ramzi Kassem, the head of CUNY Law School's legal clinic. AP 'This is the chief pro-Hamas agitator that led to the antisemitic encampments at Columbia, the rioting and violent takeover of Hamilton Hall, the harassment and physical assault of Jewish students,' Stefanik said of Khalil. 'You allow the head of the clinical legal organization and a professor to be the chief legal aid to Mahmoud Khalil and do his legal defense fund?' Matos Rodríguez responded, 'Those decisions are made in the clinics and are made in the individual campuses.' In another case, Stefanik asked about delays in removing a swastika from the main building of CUNY's Hunter College campus on Manhattan's Upper East Side in the fall of 2023. 7 Protestors gather outside Brooklyn College during a âCUNY Wide Student Walkout for Palestineâ on Thursday, November 9, 2023 in Brooklyn, N.Y. James Keivom She displayed a Nov. 13, 2023 email apparently by Hunter's Interim Vice President for Administration Gustavo Ordonez telling Leah Garrett, the school's chair of Jewish Studies: 'Apologies, but it's not that simple.' Advertisement Garrett has since filed a federal workplace discrimination suit against CUNY. CUNY typically removes hateful symbols right away but there was a delay in doing so in this case because officials 'were working with the New York City Police Department' on a potential hate crime case, Matos Rodríguez told the panel. In a joint press conference after the hearing with Brooklyn Councilwoman Inna Vernikov in DC, Stefanik said Matos Rodríguez had to go, and claimed Hochul was part of the problem. 7 Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., questions the panel of witnesses during a House Committee on Education and Workforce Committee hearing on 'Antisemitism in Higher Education: Examining the Role of Faculty, Funding, and Ideology' on Capitol Hill, Tuesday, July 15, 2025, in Washington. @RepStefanik/X Advertisement 'The scourge of antisemitism has skyrocketed on her watch,' Stefanik said of Hochul. 'She needs to call on this chancellor to resign. She needs to fire him today.' Vernikov agreed, telling reporters: 'With one phone call, she can make sure the chancellor gets removed.' 'We need competent leadership. The chancellor is unwilling and unable to address antisemitism and protect his Jewish students,' she said. Advertisement 7 Protestors gather outside Brooklyn College during a CUNY Wide Student Walkout for Palestine on Thursday, November 9, 2023 in Brooklyn, N.Y. James Keivom Hochul created a task force headed by former New York state chief judge Jonathan Lippman that issued recommendations last year to weed out campus antisemitism at CUNY. Matos Rodríguez is likely not going anywhere. He has strong support among CUNY's trustees, appointed by the governor and mayor. Overall, he defended CUNY's performance in tamping down antisemitism and said officials have learned from past mistakes. Advertisement 'Antisemitism has no place at CUNY,' he testified. 7 Dr. Félix Matos Rodríguez, Chancellor, The City University of New York, testifies during a House Committee on Education and Workforce Committee hearing. AP 'And although our response has not always been perfect, our commitment to this important work has never wavered. Our commitment to the safety of the members of our Jewish community, and to our entire community, is non-negotiable.' He noted the $3 million in vandalism caused by anti-Israel protestors who created an encampment at CUNY's City College last year. 'We learned from that experience. We now have a zero-tolerance policy against encampments,' Matos Rodríguez said, adding CUNY hired more than 150 full-time security employees and contracted with an additional 250 security personnel. 'Our approach has shown results,' he said.
