PKK begins landmark disarmament ceremony in Iraqi Kurdistan

The Kurdistan Workers’ Party will start laying down its weapons in a tightly guarded ceremony near Suleymaniyah in Iraq on Friday, launching what Ankara and Kurdish leaders call the first real step towards ending more than 40 years of conflict that has claimed more than 40,000 lives.

A small PKK delegation is expected to surrender arms at an undisclosed site in Iraq’s Kurdish region before returning to its mountain bases, officials briefed on the arrangements said. Broader disarmament points—jointly overseen by the Turkish, Iraqi and Kurdistan regional authorities—are due to operate throughout the summer.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan welcomed the move as “totally ripping off and throwing away the bloody shackles that were put on our country’s legs,” describing it as an historic chance to dismantle what Türkiye, the U.S., the EU and the UK classify as a terrorist organisation.

Imprisoned PKK founder Abdullah Ocalan, held in solitary confinement on Imrali Island since 1999, urged the group in a rare video message “to put politics and social peace, not weapons, into practice.” Kurdish analysts say the 76-year-old still commands decisive authority among supporters.

The latest push follows an initiative by nationalist leader Devlet Bahçeli last October to create a “terror-free Türkiye.” Ocalan’s February letter calling for the PKK to dissolve itself paved the way for a unilateral ceasefire and Friday’s ceremony.

A parliamentary commission in Ankara will draft next steps after the summer recess, though officials stress no decision on easing Ocalan’s prison terms—or any wider amnesty—will be taken before MPs vote on the panel’s recommendations.

If successful, analysts say the demobilisation could reshape security dynamics not only in Türkiye but also in neighbouring Iraq, Syria and Iran, where PKK-linked groups operate.

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