Latest news with #KurdishPeople
Times
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Times
After 40 years, the Kurdish PKK has promised to disarm and disband
Ever since the victorious allies declined to carve a homeland for the Kurds out of the carcass of the Ottoman empire in the aftermath of the First World War they have struggled to establish themselves as a sovereign people. Numbering between 30 and 45 million (no one seems to know how many exactly), the Kurds are victims of historical and geographical misfortune. Their mountainous, landlocked territory straddles the borders of Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Syria, each of which have at times treated them to a diet of brutal repression. Out of this struggle sprang the Kurdistan Workers' Party, the PKK, which since 1984 has fought for independence, or at least autonomy, from Turkey, home to half of all Kurds. Now, at last, the game appears
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Kurdish PKK militants announce decision to dissolve after decades of conflict with Turkey
The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) said on Monday it would dissolve itself, according to media close to the militant separatist group, in what would be a historic move after decades of conflict with Turkey that have killed tens of thousands of people. 'The 12th Congress of the PKK decided to dissolve the organizational structure of the PKK and to end the armed struggle method,' the group said in a statement, according to the pro-Kurdish news outlet Firat News Agency. It added that the 'practical process' of dissolution would be managed by their imprisoned leader, Abdullah Ocalan, and that they have 'ended the work carried out under the name of the PKK.' For almost five decades, Turkey has been at war with the PKK, founded by Ocalan in 1978. Much of the fighting has focused on the group's desire to establish an independent Kurdish state in the country's southeast. But in recent years the group has called for more autonomy within Turkey instead. In March, the PKK declared an immediate ceasefire after Ocalan called on fighters to lay down their arms and dissolve the group.
Irish Times
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Irish Times
Separatist Kurdish group PKK to disband
The separatist Kurdish group, the PKK , has agreed to lay down arms to end a 40-year war for autonomy against Turkey , a historic step that could strengthen the Nato member's aspirations to become a regional powerhouse. The PKK decided to disarm and disband at a congress last week, the pro-Kurdish ANF news agency reported on Monday, after declaring a ceasefire on March 1st. The group has been affiliated with US-backed Syrian Kurdish forces and the decision could ease tensions between Ankara and Washington over the future of Kurds and power sharing in Turkey's southeastern neighbour. 'The congress has assessed that PKK struggle has destroyed the policy of rejection and destruction against our people and has led the Kurdish issue to the point of solution via democratic politics, and that in this respect, the PKK has completed its historical mission,' ANF cited a statement from the congress as saying. READ MORE It is unclear whether Turkey will offer safe passage for the group's leadership to third countries or declare amnesty for thousands of militants if they return home. The PKK said its imprisoned leader, Abdullah Ocalan, should lead the political process, according to the statement. 'At this stage, it's important for parliament to play its role with a historic responsibility.' The conflict with the PKK has exacted a heavy toll on Turkey, with an estimated 40,000 people – most of them Kurds – killed since the insurgency began in 1984, including both militants and civilians. During the height of the fighting in the 1990s, Turkish military campaigns in the southeast emptied entire villages, displacing hundreds of thousands and fuelling chronic regional instability. Urban centres such as Istanbul and Ankara were repeatedly targeted in PKK-linked bombings, eroding public confidence and contributing to security concerns that weighed on tourism, investment and domestic political cohesion. Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan has made resolving the Kurdish conflict a central aim as he seeks to thwart what he sees as the growing threat of Kurdish nationalism in the region. If successful, it would boost Turkey's aspirations to reshape the Middle East and burnish support for Mr Erdogan as he seeks to rewrite the constitution and extend his two-decade long rule. Turkey is now facing the question of how to address demands from the PKK and the pro-Kurdish DEM party to improve rights for the ethnic group. They are calling for recognition of Kurdish identity and culture in the country's constitution and permission for Kurdish language teaching in schools, alongside the devolution of more powers to local authorities in Turkey's Kurdish majority southeast. Kurds make up almost a fifth of Turkey's 90 million population. The bloody conflict has claimed tens of thousands of lives since the PKK took up arms for autonomy in 1984. – Bloomberg
CTV News
09-05-2025
- Politics
- CTV News
PKK militant group close to announcing decision to disband, Turkey's pro-Kurdish party says
A picture of Abdullah Ocalan, the imprisoned leader of Turkiye's banned Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, is displayed inside a shop in the northern Syrian city of Qamishli that is controlled by the U.S.-backed and Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, Sunday, Jan. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)
