Fighters from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), a militant group that has waged a decade-long insurgency in Türkiye, began laying down their weapons in a symbolic ceremony on Friday in northern Iraq.
This marks the first tangible step in the disarmament process, which is a key part of a broader peace initiative aimed at ending more than 40 years of conflict.
In May, the PKK announced it would disband and renounce armed struggle, following a call from their imprisoned leader, Abdullah Öcalan, who has been held on an island near Istanbul since 1999.
Öcalan urged the group to convene a congress and formally end its armed activities. On Wednesday, Öcalan reiterated his stance in a video message, saying, “I believe in the power of politics and social peace, not weapons.”
The disarmament ceremony, which took place in the mountains near Sulaymaniyah in northern Iraq’s Kurdish region, was attended by about 30 fighters who declared their commitment to peace and democracy.
The group, which referred to itself as the “Peace and Democratic Society Group,” stated that they were laying down their weapons “as a gesture of goodwill and a commitment to the practical success” of the peace process.
“We will henceforth continue our struggle for freedom, democracy, and socialism through democratic politics and legal means,” the statement read.
The PKK’s disarmament is expected to take place in stages, with the full process set to be completed by September, according to reports from the Iraqi News Agency.
Representatives from the Turkish intelligence service, the Kurdish regional government, Iraq’s Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, and the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party were also present at the ceremony.
Turkish officials, including Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmus, acknowledged the significance of this first step but stressed that much work remains.
“There’s still a long way to go in collecting many more weapons,” Kurtulmus said, adding that the primary goal is to ensure that weapons are never used again in the future.
Devlet Bahceli, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s nationalist ally, also welcomed the development. In a statement, Bahceli called the disarmament a historic moment, marking “the end of a dark era.”
He also recalled his surprise suggestion last October that Öcalan could be granted parole if he renounced violence and disbanded the PKK, a proposal that had previously seemed unlikely.
The peace process, which began under a government initiative led by Bahceli, aims to end one of the longest-running conflicts in the region. With the first step of disarmament underway, all eyes are now on whether the process can continue successfully and bring lasting peace to the Turkish-Kurdish divide.