Latest news with #Kurdish-majority
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Kurdish leader Ocalan told the PKK to disband, it did: Here's what to know
The Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) says it is disbanding after more than 40 years of armed struggle against the Turkish state. The announcement came after the PKK held its congress in northern Iraq on Friday, about two months after its imprisoned founder, Abdullah Ocalan, also known as 'Appo', called on the group to disarm in February. For most of its history, the PKK has been labelled a terrorist group by Turkiye, the European Union and the United States. It fought for Kurdish autonomy for years, a fight that has been declared over now. This is all you need to know about why Ocalan and the PKK have given up their armed struggle. Ocalan was born to a poor Kurdish farming family on April 4, 1948, in Omerli, Sanliurfa, a Kurdish-majority part of Turkiye. He moved to Ankara to study political science at the university there, where he became politically active; driven, biographers say, by the sense of marginalisation that many Kurds in Turkiye felt. By the mid-1970s, he was advocating for Kurdish nationalism and went on to found the PKK in 1978. Six years later, the group launched a separatist rebellion against Turkiye under his had absolute rule over the PKK and worked to stamp out rival Kurdish groups, monopolising the struggle for Kurdish liberation, according to Blood and Belief: The PKK and the Kurdish Fight for Independence, by Aliza Marcus. At the time, Kurds were denied the right to speak their language, give their children Kurdish names or show any expression of nationalism. Despite Ocalan's authoritarian rule, his charisma and positioning as a champion of Kurdish rights led most Kurds across Turkiye to love and respect him, calling him 'Appo', which means Uncle. Violent. More than 40,000 people died between 1984 and 2024, with thousands of Kurds fleeing the violence in southeastern Turkiye into cities further north. Throughout the 1980s and 90s, Ocalan led operations from neighbouring Syria, which was a source of tensions between the then-Assad regime and Turkiye. The PKK resorted to brutal tactics beginning in the late 1980s and early 90s. According to a report by the European Council on Foreign Relations from 2007, the group, under Ocalan, kidnapped foreign tourists, adopted suicide bombing operations and attacked Turkish diplomatic offices in Europe. Perhaps even worse, the PKK would repress Kurdish civilians who did not assist the group in its guerrilla warfare. Eventually, more than a decade after he was caught. In 1998, Ocalan was forced to flee Syria due to the threat of a Turkish incursion to capture him. A year later, Turkish agents arrested him on a plane in Nairobi, Kenya, thanks to intel received from the US. He was brought back to Turkiye and handed the death penalty, yet his sentence was changed to life in prison after Turkiye abolished capital punishment in 2004 in a bid to become a member of the EU. By 2013, Ocalan changed his stance on separatism and began lobbying for comprehensive Kurdish rights and greater regional autonomy in Turkiye, saying he no longer believed in the effectiveness of armed rebellion. This radical shift led to the start of a shaky peace process between the PKK and the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party), headed by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The peace process led to some freedoms for Kurds, yet fighting erupted between the government and the PKK in 2015 due in part to fears that the party was trying to create a Kurdish statelet in neighbouring Syria during its civil war. At the time, many Kurds from southern Turkiye had left for Syria to help the Kurds there fight against ISIL (ISIS). In 2015, the AK Party had also formed a new alliance with the far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), which was staunchly opposed to any peace process involving the announcing its disarmament, the PKK said it has 'completed its historical mission' by 'breaking the policy of denial and annihilation of our people and bringing the Kurdish issue to a point where solving it can occur through democratic politics'. However, analysts argue that there are other reasons behind the decision. The PKK and its Kurdish allies in the region are more vulnerable than before due to recent developments, according to Sinan Ulgen, an expert on Turkiye and senior fellow at Carnegie Europe in Brussels. 'The reason the PKK gave up its armed struggle has to do with the change in the international context,' Ulgen explained. US President Donald Trump does not see Syria as a 'strategic focal point' for foreign policy and is, therefore, unlikely to keep supporting Kurdish armed groups in the country as it had during the fight against ISIL, he explained. In addition, the new government in Syria is on good terms with Turkiye, unlike under the now-overthrown Assad regime. This new relationship could significantly hurt the ability of the PKK and its Syrian offshoot, the Democratic Union Party (PYD), to operate along the Syria-Turkiye border. The political climate seems ripe for that. Main political parties, such as the AK Party and its rival Republican People's Party (CHP), have vocally or tacitly supported a new peace process. But it was the MHP, long opposed to any overtures to the Kurds, that created the window for a new peace process. In April 2024, MHP leader Devlet Bahceli invited Ocalan to renounce 'terrorism' in front of Turkiye's parliament in exchange for possible parole. 'The fact it was Bahceli … was kind of unbelievable,' said Sinem Adar, an expert on Turkiye with the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWB). Bahceli's change of heart is probably to help his coalition partner, Erdogan, run in and win the next national election, experts told Al Jazeera. Under the constitution, Erdogan cannot run for another term unless an early election is called, which needs 360 out of 600 votes in parliament. To add the votes of Kurdish delegates from the Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM) to the MHP-AK Party alliance's votes, '[Erdogan] needs to broaden his political support base in parliament over and above the current ruling alliance', Carnegie's Ulgen told Al Jazeera. It is unclear if he will be released, but his prison conditions could significantly improve, said Ulgen. He said the government would prefer to gradually increase Ocalan's freedoms, so it can gauge the reactions of his support base and the broader public. Many people in Turkiye still view Ocalan as a 'terrorist' and blame him for a conflict that has taken the lives of so many. 'I think the government wants to test the waters before allowing Ocalan to go free,' Ulgen told Al Jazeera.
RTHK
13-05-2025
- Politics
- RTHK
PKK to disband and end armed struggle
PKK to disband and end armed struggle The PKK, or Kurdistan Workers' Party, has been in conflict with the Turkish state since the 1970s. File photo: AFP The Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) on Monday announced its dissolution and the end of its armed struggle, drawing a line under its deadly four-decade insurgency against the Turkish state. Founded in the late 1970s by Abdullah Ocalan, the PKK took up arms in 1984, beginning a string of bloody attacks on Turkish soil that sparked a conflict that cost more than 40,000 lives. The PKK "has decided to dissolve... and end its armed struggle", it said in a statement after a landmark leadership congress, saying it had brought "the Kurdish issue to a point where it can be resolved through democratic politics". Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan hailed the move, calling it an "important decision for maintaining peace and fraternity" in the country. "We are moving confidently towards our goal of terror-free Turkey, overcoming obstacles, breaking prejudices and thwarting the traps of discord," he added. The PKK statement of intent was also welcomed as a boost for regional security by top officials in Syria and Iraq, by the European Union and at the United Nations. Ocalan had in February urged his fighters to disarm and disband in a letter from Imrali prison island where he has been held since 1999. He also asked the PKK to hold a congress to formalise the decision. The declaration was the culmination of seven months of work to renew long-stalled talks that began in October when Ankara offered Ocalan an unexpected olive branch. The news won a cautious welcome on the streets of Diyarbakir, the main city in Turkey's Kurdish-majority southeast, where locals have seen repeated efforts to end the violence come to nothing. "We want this process to move forward and not be left unfinished. They shouldn't deceive the Kurds as they did before. We really want peace," 60-year-old worker Fahri Savas told AFP. There was a similar sentiment in Iraqi Kurdistan's Erbil, where Khaled Mohammed, 55, warned: "We only support the peace process if it is serious and accompanied by international guarantees." With PKK fighters present in both Syria and Iraq, the movement's dissolution is likely to reverberate in both nations. Syria's top diplomat Asaad al-Shaibani said it was "a pivotal moment" not only for Turkey, "but for the stability of our region as a whole". Nechirvan Barzani, president of Iraq's Kurdistan region -- a crucial powerbroker in Kurdish affairs with close ties to Ankara -- hailed the "political maturity" of the decision, saying it would boost "stability in Turkey and the region". UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said if the PKK's decision was implemented, it would be "another important step towards a peaceful resolution of long-standing conflict", his spokesman told reporters. Brussels urged "all parties to seize the moment" to resolve the decades-long Kurdish question -- echoing a call by Turkey's pro-Kurdish opposition DEM party, which played a key role in the process. "The door to a political solution to the Kurdish problem has been thrown wide open," DEM spokeswoman Aysegul Dogan told reporters. "We should not waste this great opportunity... Peace is no longer a dream." Despite talk of parole for Ocalan, who has spent more than 25 years serving life in solitary confinement, it was unlikely he would leave Imrali. "The conditions of his detention will be eased... meetings with DEM and his family will also be more frequent," a source from Erdogan's ruling AKP told the pro-government Turkiye daily. The move was also important for Erdogan. "If the PKK announces it is disbanding and finalises the process without any road accidents, that will be a huge win for Erdogan," Gonul Tol of the Washington-based Middle East Institute told AFP. She said seeking a rapprochement with the Kurds was very much related to domestic politics, coming just months after Erdogan's AKP suffered a blow at the ballot box. Analysts say ending the Kurdish conflict could let Erdogan amend the constitution and extend his term in office, while simultaneously driving a wedge between pro-Kurdish parties and the rest of Turkey's opposition. "The main driver behind this Ocalan opening has always been about consolidating Erdogan's rule. Because if this whole process succeeds, he will go into the 2028 elections as a stronger candidate who is facing a divided opposition," Tol said. The PKK was set up in 1978 with the original aim of carving out a homeland for Kurds, who make up about 20 percent of Turkey's 85 million people, later modifying its aims to seek greater autonomy. (AFP)
RTHK
13-05-2025
- Politics
- RTHK
PKK to disband and end armed struggle
PKK to disband and end armed struggle The PKK, or Kurdistan Workers' Party, has been in conflict with the Turkish state since the 1970s. File photo: AFP The Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) on Monday announced its dissolution and the end of its armed struggle, drawing a line under its deadly four-decade insurgency against the Turkish state. Founded in the late 1970s by Abdullah Ocalan, the PKK took up arms in 1984, beginning a string of bloody attacks on Turkish soil that sparked a conflict that cost more than 40,000 lives. The PKK "has decided to dissolve... and end its armed struggle", it said in a statement after a landmark leadership congress, saying it had brought "the Kurdish issue to a point where it can be resolved through democratic politics". Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan hailed the move, calling it an "important decision for maintaining peace and fraternity" in the country. "We are moving confidently towards our goal of terror-free Turkey, overcoming obstacles, breaking prejudices and thwarting the traps of discord," he added. The PKK statement of intent was also welcomed as a boost for regional security by top officials in Syria and Iraq, by the European Union and at the United Nations. Ocalan had in February urged his fighters to disarm and disband in a letter from Imrali prison island where he has been held since 1999. He also asked the PKK to hold a congress to formalise the decision. The declaration was the culmination of seven months of work to renew long-stalled talks that began in October when Ankara offered Ocalan an unexpected olive branch. The news won a cautious welcome on the streets of Diyarbakir, the main city in Turkey's Kurdish-majority southeast, where locals have seen repeated efforts to end the violence come to nothing. "We want this process to move forward and not be left unfinished. They shouldn't deceive the Kurds as they did before. We really want peace," 60-year-old worker Fahri Savas told AFP. There was a similar sentiment in Iraqi Kurdistan's Erbil, where Khaled Mohammed, 55, warned: "We only support the peace process if it is serious and accompanied by international guarantees." With PKK fighters present in both Syria and Iraq, the movement's dissolution is likely to reverberate in both nations. Syria's top diplomat Asaad al-Shaibani said it was "a pivotal moment" not only for Turkey, "but for the stability of our region as a whole". Nechirvan Barzani, president of Iraq's Kurdistan region -- a crucial powerbroker in Kurdish affairs with close ties to Ankara -- hailed the "political maturity" of the decision, saying it would boost "stability in Turkey and the region". UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said if the PKK's decision was implemented, it would be "another important step towards a peaceful resolution of long-standing conflict", his spokesman told reporters. Brussels urged "all parties to seize the moment" to resolve the decades-long Kurdish question -- echoing a call by Turkey's pro-Kurdish opposition DEM party, which played a key role in the process. "The door to a political solution to the Kurdish problem has been thrown wide open," DEM spokeswoman Aysegul Dogan told reporters. "We should not waste this great opportunity... Peace is no longer a dream." Despite talk of parole for Ocalan, who has spent more than 25 years serving life in solitary confinement, it was unlikely he would leave Imrali. "The conditions of his detention will be eased... meetings with DEM and his family will also be more frequent," a source from Erdogan's ruling AKP told the pro-government Turkiye daily. The move was also important for Erdogan. "If the PKK announces it is disbanding and finalises the process without any road accidents, that will be a huge win for Erdogan," Gonul Tol of the Washington-based Middle East Institute told AFP. She said seeking a rapprochement with the Kurds was very much related to domestic politics, coming just months after Erdogan's AKP suffered a blow at the ballot box. Analysts say ending the Kurdish conflict could let Erdogan amend the constitution and extend his term in office, while simultaneously driving a wedge between pro-Kurdish parties and the rest of Turkey's opposition. "The main driver behind this Ocalan opening has always been about consolidating Erdogan's rule. Because if this whole process succeeds, he will go into the 2028 elections as a stronger candidate who is facing a divided opposition," Tol said. The PKK was set up in 1978 with the original aim of carving out a homeland for Kurds, who make up about 20 percent of Turkey's 85 million people, later modifying its aims to seek greater autonomy. (AFP)
Express Tribune
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
PKK ends decades of armed struggle
The Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) on Monday announced its dissolution and the end of its armed struggle, drawing a line under its deadly four-decade insurgency against the Turkish state. Founded in the late 1970s by Abdullah Ocalan, the PKK took up arms in 1984, beginning a string of bloody attacks on Turkish soil that sparked a conflict that cost more than 40,000 lives. The PKK "has decided to dissolve... and end its armed struggle," it said in a statement after a landmark leadership congress, saying it had brought "the Kurdish issue to a point where it can be resolved through democratic politics". Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan hailed the move as an "extremely important step" for both domestic and regional security. "The decision taken by the PKK is a historic and important decision, especially in terms of permanent peace and stability in our region," he told reporters, saying there was "much to be done" to ensure its implementation. The move was also welcomed as a boost for regional security by top officials in Syria and Iraq, and hailed by the European Union. Ocalan had in February urged his fighters to disarm and disband in a letter from Imrali prison island where he has been held since 1999. He also asked the PKK to hold a congress to formalise the decision. The declaration was the culmination of seven months of work to renew long-stalled talks that began in October when Ankara offered Ocalan an unexpected olive branch. The news won a cautious welcome on the streets of Diyarbakir, the main city in Turkey's Kurdish-majority southeast, where locals have seen repeated efforts to end the violence come to naught. "We want this process to move forward and not be left unfinished. They shouldn't deceive the Kurds as they did before. We really want peace," 60 year-old-worker Fahri Savas told AFP. With PKK fighters present in both Syria and Iraq, the movement's dissolution is likely to reverberate in both nations. Syria's top diplomat Asaad al-Shaibani said it was "a pivotal moment" not only for Turkey, "but for the stability of our region as a whole". Nechirvan Barzani, president of Iraq's Kurdistan region -- a crucial powerbroker in Kurdish affairs with close ties to Ankara -- hailed the "political maturity" of the decision, saying it would boost "stability in Turkey and the region". Brussels urged "all parties to seize the moment" to resolve the decades-long Kurdish question
Boston Globe
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Kurdish insurgent group says it is ending conflict with Turkish state
Advertisement In a statement Monday, the group echoed Ocalan's call, saying it had 'carried the Kurdish issue to a level where it can be solved by democratic politics, and the PKK has completed its mission in that sense.' A recent congress by the group's leaders in northern Iraq had decided to end 'activities under the name of PKK.'' The group said Ocalan should lead the process of disarming, and it called on Turkey's parliament to take part. The move could end a conflict that has claimed more than 40,000 lives. It was unclear what would happen next. Ocalan has been held in near isolation in a prison on an island in the Sea of Marmara since his capture by Turkish intelligence in 1999. The PKK and pro-Kurdish politicians have called for his release, or at least for a loosening of the restrictions on him to allow him to oversee the disarmament process. Advertisement Many Kurds in Turkey have also expressed hopes that the end of the conflict would lead the government to formally expand Kurdish cultural and educational rights, but no new legislation on such issues appears imminent. The long conflict, in which PKK militants bombed civilian areas and the Turkish military responded with great force, has led to pitched battles in Kurdish-majority cities. Monday's announcement is a boon for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. He can claim to have done what his predecessors failed to do, and the PKK's dissolution could expand his support among Kurds, which many analysts suspect that he covets in order to change the constitution and seek a third presidential term. Mesut Yegen, an academic who has written extensively on Kurdish issues, said there is nonetheless a long and difficult process ahead for Erdogan. The Turkish leader needs to push through legal changes on the status of militants, among other things, he said. In a social media post, Omer Celik, a spokesperson for Erdogan's governing Justice and Development Party, said the PKK's announcement was an important step in Erdogan's work to ensure a 'terror-free Turkey.' The PKK's declaration could also influence other Kurdish militias, particularly in Syria, and shift regional dynamics beyond Turkey's borders. The Kurds — an ethnic group of roughly 40 million people — are spread across Turkey, Syria, Iran, and Iraq. They were promised, but never granted, their own nation by world powers after World War I and have since launched various rebellions against governments that have sought to suppress their cultural identity. Advertisement In nearly every country where they live, Kurds have faced state-sponsored suppression of their language and culture. Yegen said that the laying down of arms by the PKK could have major implications across the region, and that 'Turkey's relations with the Kurds in Syria and Iraq will be based on cooperation, rather than conflict.' He added, 'It is clear that the door for a massive change has been opened.' It was not immediately clear how the decision would affect the PKK bases hidden in the mountainous areas of Iraq's northern Kurdish region. Turkey has repeatedly bombarded PKK strongholds in northern Iraq, as well as the group's offshoot controlling the northeastern regions of Syria, branding them a terrorist threat near its borders. Turkish officials have said publicly that the government offered no concessions to the PKK to persuade it to disarm. But officials from Turkey's main pro-Kurdish party have expressed hope that the government would expand cultural and educational rights for Kurds. This article originally appeared in
