ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Turkey’s defense ministry warned the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and its affiliated groups on Thursday that they “must” lay down their arms immediately, and “unconditionally”.
The PKK "has realized, albeit belatedly, that it cannot get anywhere with terror, that it has reached the end of its life, and that it has no choice but to dissolve itself,” state-run Anadolu Agency cited a Turkish defense ministry source.
Jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan in a historic address on February 27, called on the group’s fighters to disarm and end their armed struggle against the Turkish state.
"As in the call made, the PKK and all groups affiliated with it must end their terrorist activities, dissolve themselves and immediately unconditionally lay down their weapons and surrender their weapons,” the Turkish defense ministry said.
The PKK is an armed group that has fought for increased Kurdish rights in Turkey for decades. The group, designated as a terrorist organization by Ankara, uses mountainous areas of the Kurdistan Region as shelter and often engages in direct armed conflict with Turkey.
Headquartered in the Kurdistan Region’s Mount Qandil, the PKK is an armed group that has fought for increased Kurdish rights in Turkey for decades. The group is designated a terrorist organization by Ankara, Europe, and the US.
Just two days after Ocalan’s call, the PKK declared a ceasefire with Turkey to pave the way for the success of the call.
“We are declaring a ceasefire effective today in order to pave the way for the realization of Leader Apo's [Ocalan's] Call for Peace and Democratic Society. None of our forces will take armed action unless there is an attack on them,” the PKK said in a statement.
The Turkish defense ministry, however, said they would not agree to a ceasefire, as it was not Ocalan’s call.
"No attempt should be made to create confusion by bringing up issues such as a ceasefire, which are not included in the text [Ocalan’s call]. As our Minister has stated, the sabotaging and prolonging of the process will not be allowed; a cautious and rational approach will be adopted,” the Turkish defense ministry source said.
A day after Ocalan’s call, Turkish state media quoted Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as saying “a new phase has begun in the efforts for a terror-free.”
“It is our primary duty towards our nation to establish and strengthen an all-encompassing and inclusive climate in our country, where no one feels like they are the other,” Erdogan added.
Top PKK Commander Murat Karayilan earlier in February expressed concern over the possibility of laying down arms by the group’s fighters in an interview with the PKK-affiliated Sterk TV.
Karayilan said “these are ideologic fighters, as in they are believers,” calling Ocalan by his nickname Apo, Kurdish for uncle, Karayilan added “unless the person who created those ideologies, as in leader Apo himself… meets the fighters, a recorded video call alone does not work.”
In October, Devlet Bahceli, head of the far-right Turkish Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), in a major move proposed allowing Ocalan to appear before the legislature and declare the dissolution of the PKK, an initiative immediately endorsed by Erdogan and the Turkish political landscape.
In 2013, the Turkish government, led by then-prime minister and current President Erdogan, entered a peace process with the PKK aimed at ending the decades of conflict and bloodshed. The truce was short-lived and collapsed in July 2015, leading to violent clashes in Turkey’s southeastern Kurdish areas.
Millions across Turkey – Turks and Kurds, are now once again looking ahead with renewed hope that a perpetual solution will be found to permanently resolve the conflict that has spanned decades and claimed tens of thousands of lives.
Updated at 01:39 pm
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