ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) monthly newspaper Serxwebun announced in its latest issue that the platform will cease publication in the wake of the PKK's announced disbandment in May, with the group having opted to enter a peace process with the Turkish state.

Serxwebun, the Kurdish word for independence, was the title of the 47-year-old PKK newspaper that was established in the same year as the armed group in 1978, having released a monthly issue ever since.

The newspaper wrote in its 521st issue that “the decision taken by the 12th Congress to dissolve the organizational structure of the PKK also applies to Serxwebun,” announcing that the platform “ends its publication life with this issue.”

“The termination of Serxwebun's publication life is not an end" but rather lays the groundwork "for new beginnings,” the newspaper wrote, detailing that “it aims to pave the way for new organs that publish according to the theoretical and ideological truth of the theory of democratic civilization.”

The PKK announced in May that the group had agreed to disband and dissolve after releasing the results of the party's 12th congress, saying they would “end all activities” and armed struggle against Turkey in favor of a peaceful, political, and dialogue-based approach to the Kurdish issue.

The Kurdish militant group, until its disbandment in May 2025, claimed to fight for increased Kurdish rights in Turkey, predominantly engaging in armed struggle with Turkish forces from the mountainous borders of the Kurdish Region, Iraq, and Syria.

The group had long been recognized as a terrorist organization by Ankara, the US, and the European Union. It was also declared a banned organization by Iraq in 2024.

The decision by the PKK to disband, which came after a late February call by PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan for the party to dissolve itself and lay down arms, was widely welcomed both locally and internationally. Many in Turkey and beyond now look forward with renewed hope that the developments would pave the way for a democratic solution towards the Kurdish issue.