Latest news with #KurdishRights
Japan Times
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Japan Times
The sudden death of Kurdish separatism in Turkey
The world's longest-running armed insurgency has come to an abrupt end. Some four decades after orchestrating its first attack against Turkish government targets, the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) has decided to disband and disarm, it was announced earlier this month. The decision marks a turning point not only for Turkey, but for the entire Middle East. Since its founding in the late 1970s by the now-jailed Abdullah Ocalan, the PKK was motivated primarily by the goal of establishing an independent Kurdish state, while also seeking to secure political rights for the Kurdish minority in Turkey. But several factors, both domestic and international, have apparently convinced its leaders to abandon violence. Begin with the domestic political situation. As a two-term president, Erdogan has made clear that he hopes to seek a third mandate, meaning that he has to find a way to amend Turkey's Constitution or to convince Parliament to back an early election bill. In either case, success would require him to secure more support than his ruling coalition, comprising his Justice and Development Party and the far-right Nationalist Movement Party, can provide. But Turkey's third-largest party, the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM), can deliver the missing votes. The objective of enrolling DEM in the parliamentary effort to amend the constitution paved the way for the 'Kurdish opening,' designed to enhance the political and cultural rights of Turkey's Kurds. The quid pro quo was the dismantling of the PKK and an end to its terrorist campaign against the Turkish state. The PKK's decision to disband was also influenced by international developments, which had placed the group under severe pressure. Last December, Syrian President Bashar Assad — who had used the PKK as a tool to undermine Turkey — was ousted and the new Syrian regime could not be counted on to support Kurdish efforts to destabilize Turkey. The United States, too, is distancing itself from the PKK affiliates that once played a leading role in the fight against the Islamic State. Whereas former U.S. President Joe Biden's administration offered near unconditional support to U.S.-allied Kurdish groups, such as the Syrian Democratic Forces, Donald Trump believes that U.S. national interests — not least political stability in Syria — are better served by strengthening ties with Turkey. A final, less-discussed factor shaping the PKK's calculations was Turkey's growing use of drone technology to strengthen border security and, more importantly, to target senior PKK commanders outside of Turkey — even deep in Iraqi territory. As this significantly weakened the PKK's logistical and operational effectiveness, it likely prompted a fundamental reassessment of the insurgency's prospects. This combination of factors has created a window of opportunity for Turkey to resolve the Kurdish issue without the kind of violent campaign that fuels radicalization. But a successful transition from an era of armed struggle to one of peace and integration will require Erdoğan's government to deliver on two fronts. The first is transparency. The PKK's long history of violence has understandably generated deep animosity within Turkish society. It is thus essential that the contents of negotiations between the PKK and the Turkish government — including the relevant trade-offs — are communicated clearly and openly. For example, a major consideration will be whether PKK-affiliated entities like the People's Protection Units in Syria will also disarm. Parliament — and, in particular, the main opposition parties within it — must play a central role in guiding this sensitive process. The second front is democracy. This historic opening cannot succeed without genuine democratic reform, including credible steps to safeguard judicial independence and enhance freedom of speech and association. Erdogan's government could secure quick wins in this area by complying with recent rulings from the European Court of Human Rights, including its demand to release Kurdish political leader Selahattin Demirtas. At a time when Ocalan could be released, Turkey's government would also do well to address the conditions faced by other political detainees, such as Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu and Umit Ozdag, who leads the ultranationalist Victory Party. The dismantling of the PKK presents a historic opportunity to build a better Turkey. Safeguarding the country's newfound freedom from PKK terrorism requires strengthening its democracy more broadly. Beyond helping Turkey, such an initiative would demonstrate to violent actors across the Middle East that the end of political insurgencies can lead to lasting and inclusive peace. Sinan Ulgen, a former Turkish diplomat, is director of EDAM, an Istanbul-based think tank and a senior policy fellow at Carnegie Europe.© Project Syndicate, 2025
Fox News
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Kurdish militant group PKK to disband after four-decade insurgency against Turkey
The Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) announced on Monday that it will disband and disarm following its more than four-decade insurgency against the Turkish state that has resulted in the deaths of over 40,000 people at the hands of PKK militants and Turkey's military. The PKK has sought to create an independent Kurdish state on Turkish soil, where the Kurds make up some 20% of Turkey's 86 million population. The U.S., the European Union and Turkey have classified the PKK as a terrorist organization. In its statement, the PKK said, according to a Reuters report, it "has completed its historic mission," which over the years shifted to seeking greater Kurdish rights and limited autonomy in southeast Turkey, rather than an independent state. "The PKK struggle has broken the policy of denial and annihilation of our people and brought the Kurdish issue to a point of solving it through democratic politics," it said on the Firat news website, which showed images of senior PKK members attending the congress in fighter fatigues. Turkey will take necessary measures to ensure smooth progress toward a "terror-free" country after the PKK decision, said Turkey's presidential communications director, Fahrettin Altun. The dissolution of the PKK raises a host of questions for the Islamist government of Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the pro-American Kurdish forces (YPG) in northern Syrian who helped defeat the Islamist State terrorist movement. Turkey considers the YPG an affiliate of the PKK and has repeatedly launched military strikes against Syrian Kurds. The jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan, who has been held on an island south of Istanbul since 1999, urged in February that the PKK disband. Separately, Mazloum Abdi, the pro-American commander in chief of Syrian Kurdish fighters, called the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which ousted the Islamic State, said Ocalan's call did not apply to his organization. The YPG is part of the larger umbrella organization, the SDF, and is not associated with the PKK. The U.S. and the EU are allied with the SDF and the YPG in the fight against Islamist terrorism in Syria and, in contrast to Turkey, do not see an affiliation between the SDF, YPG and the PKK. Fox News Digital has reported over the years on Turkey's efforts to wipe out pro-U.S. Syrian Kurdish forces (SDF and YPG) who played a key role in the dismantlement of the Islamic State. In December, after former Syrian dictator Bashar Assad fled to Russia and his regime collapsed, Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., declared repeatedly in an address to Erdoğan in Congress, "Leave the Kurds alone." He added, "The Kurds are America's friends… The people most responsible for helping us, most responsible for destroying ISIS, were the Kurds." The Kurds are among the largest stateless ethnic groups in the world, with some 30 million concentrated in an area straddling Turkey, Iraq, Iran and Syria. A minority in all four countries, the Kurds speak their own language, with several dialects. Most are Sunni Muslims.
Associated Press
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
Key dates in the PKK's decades-long armed struggle against Turkey
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — The Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, has formally declared its dissolution on Monday, marking a historic milestone that could bring an end to one of the world's longest-running conflicts. For decades, the insurgency has extended beyond Turkey's borders into northern Iraq and northern Syria, claiming tens of thousands of lives. The decision raises hopes for peace and a significant shift in the region's stability. Here are some key dates in the history of the organization that is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey and several Western nations: Nov. 27, 1978 The PKK — an acronym for its Kurdish name, Partiya Karkeren Kurdistan — is officially founded in the village of Fis, in Turkey's mainly-Kurdish province of Diyarbakir by Abdullah Ocalan and a group of political science students from Ankara University. The Marxist organization was initially established to create an independent Kurdish state, but its objectives evolved over time to include autonomy and greater rights for Kurds, who make up an estimated 20% of the population. 1980 A military coup in Turkey forces much of the PKK to flee to neighboring countries such as Syria and Lebanon, where the fighters train in the Bekaa Valley. Ocalan leaves a year earlier, in 1979. Aug. 15, 1984 The PKK carries out its first armed attack against Turkish security posts, marking the start of its armed insurgency. 1998 Turkey issues an ultimatum to Syria, warning Damascus to expel Ocalan or face military action. The pressure forces Ocalan to leave his long-time base. Ocalan would spend the next four months traveling between several European countries, including Russia, Italy and Greece. Feb. 15, 1999 Ocalan is captured in Nairobi, Kenya by Turkish special forces — reportedly with assistance from the CIA. He is flown to Turkey and jailed on Imrali island in the Sea of Marmara, off Istanbul. June 29, 1999 Ocalan is convicted of treason and sentenced to death. His sentence is later commuted to life imprisonment, after Turkish abolishes the death penalty in 2002. August 1999 Ocalan calls on his groups to declare a unilateral ceasefire and withdraw from Turkish territory. The PKK announces a ceasefire that remains largely in effect until 2004. 2009-2011 PKK representatives hold secret talks with Turkish intelligence officers in Oslo, Norway, which ultimately break down. March 21, 2013 Ocalan calls on the PKK to lay down arms in a letter read during celebrations of the Kurdish spring festival of Newroz, marking the beginning of the peace initiative dubbed the 'Solution Process.' July 20, 2015 A deadly bomb attack targeting Kurds near the Syrian border leads to the collapse of the peace initiative and resumption of conflict. Oct. 22, 2024 Devlet Bahceli, leader of Turkey's far-right nationalist party that's allied with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, suggests parole for Ocalan, if his group renounces violence and disbands, hinting at the start of a renewed peace initiative. Oct. 23, 2024 PKK attack on a defense company near Ankara kills five people and wounds more than 20 others. Turkey retaliates with airstrikes on suspected Kurdish militant targets in Iraq and Syria. Feb. 27, 2025 Ocalan issues message from prison calling on PKK to disarm and disband. March 1, 2025 PKK declares ceasefire and expresses readiness to convene a party congress to dissolve itself. May 12, 2025 PKK announces decision to dissolve itself and end its armed struggle.
Telegraph
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
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.
CBS News
12-05-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Turkey's PKK Kurdish insurgents to lay down arms after deadly, decades-long fight against government
The Kurdish group PKK announced on Monday that it will fully disarm and disband, ending its decades-long insurgency against the Turkish state, according to the Firat News Agency, an outlet linked closely with the group. The PKK has long been designated a terrorist organization by the U.S., Turkey, the European Union, NATO, and many other nations and entities. The landmark move announced Monday will end a 40-year conflict that killed more than 40,000 people. The group declared that it had completed its "historical mission" and had thus "decided to dissolve the PKK's organizational structure, with the practical process to be managed and carried out by Leader Apo [Abdullah Ocalan], and to end the armed struggle method." The announcement came after the group's imprisoned founder and ideological leader, Abdullah Ocalan, made a call in a public letter in February, addressed to its leadership, asking the PKK to lay down its arms permanently. The PKK declared a unilateral ceasefire the following month. The group was formed in 1978 with the ambition of creating a separate, independent homeland for Turkey's large Kurdish minority, but it later dropped its separatist ambitions and focused on achieving greater rights for the group within Turkish society. Hatice Levent holds a picture of her daughter Fadime, who is believed to have joined the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), as families of young people believed to have been recruited by the PKK gather outside the local office of the pro-Kurdish DEM Party, as the PKK announces plans to disband and end its 40-year Turkey insurgency, in the southeastern city of Diyarbakir, Turkey, May 12, 2025. Sertac Kayar/REUTERS A spokesperson for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) welcomed the announcement, calling it, "a significant step towards a terror free Turkey." Spokesman Omer Celik said the PKK's decision should be "implemented with all its dimensions, without any shortcomings, and with concrete goals." There were, however, no details immediately released about the technicalities of the group's disbanding, such as what would happen with all the weapons it has held for decades, or if its members would receive legal amnesty in Turkey. In its statement, the PKK said the issue of Kurdish rights had come "to a point where it can be resolved through democratic politics," urging the Turkish parliament to take "a historical role" in completing the process. Erdogan's government has had a complex relationship with the country's Kurds. While some progress was made in restoring Kurdish rights since the AKP came to power in 2002, scores of Kurdish rights defenders were also imprisoned after the collapse of peace talks in 2015. The announcement will have wider consequences for the region, especially in Iraq, Syria and Iran, all of which share borders with Turkey and have significant Kurdish minority populations of their own. The disarmament of the PKK could also help clear up a thorny issue between the U.S. and its NATO ally. Turkey has long been critical of U.S. support for the Syrian Kurdish group YPG, which Turkey considers an extension of the PKK. The YPG and allied Kurdish militias were instrumental allies to the U.S. in the war against ISIS in Syria.
