Turkish parliamentary committee begins work on PKK peace initiative
The 51-member committee, comprised of legislators from most major parties, has been charged with proposing and supervising legal and political reforms aimed at advancing the peace process, following the Kurdistan Workers' Party's (PKK) decision to disband and lay down arms.
Fighters from the group began surrendering their weapons in a symbolic ceremony in northern Iraq last month, the first concrete step toward disarmament.
In his opening remarks, Turkish Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş called the committee's launch a "historic turning point."
"The commission gathered here is no ordinary delegation; it is a historic one, demonstrating the courage to repair our future and the will to strengthen social integration," he said.
"In this hall, we are witnessing the beginning of a new era, representing the will of the nation."
The committee on Tuesday decided to name itself the National Solidarity, Brotherhood and Democracy Committee, according to the Sabah daily newspaper, which is close to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's government.
During its first meeting, committee members were also expected to hold discussions on next steps.
The PKK announced in May that it would disband and renounce armed conflict, ending four decades of hostilities.
The move came after PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan, who has been imprisoned on an island near Istanbul since 1999, urged his group in February to convene a congress and formally disband and disarm.
The PKK has waged an armed insurgency against Turkey since 1984, initially with the aim of establishing a Kurdish state in the southeast of the country.
Over time, the objective evolved into a campaign for greater autonomy and rights for Kurds within Turkey.
The conflict between militants and state forces, which has spread beyond Turkey's borders into Iraq and Syria, has killed tens of thousands of people.
The PKK is considered to be a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.
Previous peace efforts between Turkey and the PKK have all ended in failure, most recently in 2015.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Euronews
2 days ago
- Euronews
Turkish parliamentary committee begins work on PKK peace initiative
A newly formed parliamentary committee in Turkey tasked with overseeing a peace initiative with a Kurdish militant group held its inaugural meeting on Tuesday, marking a further step towards ending a decades-long insurgency. The 51-member committee, comprised of legislators from most major parties, has been charged with proposing and supervising legal and political reforms aimed at advancing the peace process, following the Kurdistan Workers' Party's (PKK) decision to disband and lay down arms. Fighters from the group began surrendering their weapons in a symbolic ceremony in northern Iraq last month, the first concrete step toward disarmament. In his opening remarks, Turkish Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş called the committee's launch a "historic turning point." "The commission gathered here is no ordinary delegation; it is a historic one, demonstrating the courage to repair our future and the will to strengthen social integration," he said. "In this hall, we are witnessing the beginning of a new era, representing the will of the nation." The committee on Tuesday decided to name itself the National Solidarity, Brotherhood and Democracy Committee, according to the Sabah daily newspaper, which is close to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's government. During its first meeting, committee members were also expected to hold discussions on next steps. The PKK announced in May that it would disband and renounce armed conflict, ending four decades of hostilities. The move came after PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan, who has been imprisoned on an island near Istanbul since 1999, urged his group in February to convene a congress and formally disband and disarm. The PKK has waged an armed insurgency against Turkey since 1984, initially with the aim of establishing a Kurdish state in the southeast of the country. Over time, the objective evolved into a campaign for greater autonomy and rights for Kurds within Turkey. The conflict between militants and state forces, which has spread beyond Turkey's borders into Iraq and Syria, has killed tens of thousands of people. The PKK is considered to be a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the United States and the European Union. Previous peace efforts between Turkey and the PKK have all ended in failure, most recently in 2015.
Euronews
3 days ago
- Euronews
UN special representative to Cyprus departs with peace talks in limbo
The UN Secretary General's Special Representative for Cyprus on Monday had his last meeting with the President of Cyprus, Nikos Christodoulides. The Canadian Colin Stewart is retiring from his position as Special Representative. Upon his departure, he expressed his disappointment over the attitude of both the Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders in formal discussions on the Cyprus issue. Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when a Greek-backed coup triggered a Turkish military intervention. The Republic of Cyprus which encompasses the southern two-thirds of the island, is internationally recognised and an EU member state, while the breakaway entity in northern Cyprus remains recognised only by Turkey. The UN has maintained a peacekeeping force in Cyprus since 1964. "A fundamental requirement is the will to find common ground, and that is different from trying to win or trying to impose your point of view," Stewart said. "One thing I found disappointing was how little they (the two sides) had in common, compared to the official views of the two sides." Stewart added that "people in Cyprus have a lot in common" and "don't have any problems with each other." He said that "millions of people a year" pass through the crossing points from north to south and vice versa, "but what is required is the will to find a solution that is mutually acceptable." Director of President Christodoulides' Press Office Victor Papadopoulos openly disagreed with Stewart's view, saying "I cannot say that we share such assessments. We are all bound by UN resolutions, and UN representatives are bound by UN and UN Security Council resolutions." "Everyone knows," he added, "that Ankara holds the 'key'." Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar says Stewart 'undermined' impartiality Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar lashed out at previous statements gave to local media, which he said was "incompatible with the impartiality of the UN's mission." The UN representative had told Cypriot newspaper Phileleftheros that "first of all, there are not many people in the north who take a two-state solution seriously." "There is no scenario under which the north will turn into an independent state recognised by the international community. That is not going to happen,' he continued. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has repeatedly promoted the idea, urging the international community to recognise the island's division. Tatar reacted by saying "The Turkish Cypriot side will remember [Stewart] as an official who, during his term, failed to fulfil his responsibility to increase trust between the two sides, undermined the perception of impartiality on some critical issues and, in particular, failed to show the necessary sensitivity to the legitimate humanitarian demands of our people." 'The Turkish Cypriot side has repeatedly and clearly demonstrated its will for a solution. This vision is shaped by the reality of two separate peoples, two separate democracies, and two separate states in Cyprus. A lasting and just solution in Cyprus is only possible by taking the current reality as a basis,' Tatar added. It is not yet known who will replace Colin Stewart in his now vacant role.
LeMonde
4 days ago
- LeMonde
Why air-dropping aid will never stop famine in Gaza
Dropping aid into a conflict zone by parachute is the least effective method of distributing humanitarian assistance. That was the categorical conclusion the US military reached after carrying out a massive air drop campaign using large cargo planes, in northern Iraq in the spring of 1991. At the time, hundreds of thousands of Kurds had fled into the mountains along the Iraq-Turkey border to escape repression by Saddam Hussein's regime. The United States, the United Kingdom and France imposed a no-fly zone for Iraqi aircraft in the country's far north. Yet the air drops caused many casualties among the refugees, with people being killed by falling crates, violent fights breaking out over aid and some supplies mistakenly landing in minefields. Soldiers on the ground protested against the operation, considering it to be more about media coverage than effectiveness, and they ultimately secured authorisation to use helicopters to deliver the aid. This allowed for actual aid distributions to be conducted, rather than just dropping supplies – but even that was only an interim solution before convoys of trucks finally provided humanitarian relief worthy of the name. 'Flour massacre' The failure that air dropping aid in northern Iraq represented was so devastating that such methods were ruled out for large-scale use for more than three decades. Only Israel's determination to use humanitarian aid as leverage over the population of Gaza, a violation of fundamental humanitarian law, has brought the last-resort option of air drops back as a possibility. In February 2024, four months of unprecedented Israeli bombardment followed by an exceptionally violent ground offensive triggered a horrifying food shortage in Gaza City and the Palestinian enclave's north, which had been cut off from the rest of the Gaza Strip. There, a 25-kilogram sack of flour would sell for $1,000, and this led to the tragedy known as the "flour massacre" on February 29, 2024: 118 people died, killed by the Israeli army, crushed by tanks or trampled in the panic of an aid distribution operation that had turned into a nightmare.
