The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) announced on Monday its decision to dissolve and end its decades-long armed campaign, drawing a warm response from Türkiye’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), which hailed it as a major step toward lasting peace.
AKP spokesperson Ömer Çelik described the move as an "important step" toward the vision of a “Türkiye without terrorism.” Speaking to state-owned Anadolu Agency, Çelik said the decision followed a recent call from jailed PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan.
“The PKK's decision to dissolve itself and lay down arms following the call from İmralı is an important step toward the goal of a 'Türkiye without terrorism',” Çelik stated, referring to İmralı Island, where Öcalan is serving a life sentence.
In late February, Öcalan called on the PKK to disband and disarm, a message the group officially acted on this Monday.
Çelik emphasized that implementation would be closely monitored:
“The implementation of the decision to dissolve and surrender weapons in a concrete and complete manner, covering all branches and extensions of the PKK along with its illegal structures, will be a turning point.”
He also noted that all stages of the process will be meticulously tracked by state institutions and reported to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Background:
The PKK, considered a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the U.S., and the EU, has waged a nearly 40-year insurgency against the Turkish state, primarily in the country’s southeast. The conflict has claimed tens of thousands of lives and shaped Turkish domestic and foreign policy for decades.
The group's dissolution marks a historic shift in one of Türkiye’s most enduring and violent conflicts.
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