PKK announces dissolution, declares end to armed struggle

ANKARA

PKK announced on May 12 that it will disband and disarm as part of a new peace initiative with Türkiye, ending four decades of armed conflict.

Founded in the late 1970s by Abdullah Öcalan, PKK took up arms in 1984, beginning a string of attacks against the Turkish state that would cost more than 40,000 lives.

"The 12th PKK congress has decided to dissolve PKK's organizational structure and end its method of armed struggle," the group said in a statement circulated by outlets.

The historic announcement came after an appeal by Öcalan, who urged the terror group on Feb. 27 to disarm and disband in a letter from the İmralı prison island off Istanbul, where he has been held since 1999.

He also asked PKK to hold a congress to formalize the decision, which it did last week in Iraq's Qandil mountains when it declared a ceasefire.

The move was welcomed by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) as an "important step," but it warned the process would be "meticulously monitored" by the government.

AKP spokesperson Ömer Çelik said the decisions would open the door to a new era if they were "implemented in practise and realized in all its dimensions."

"PKK's decision to dissolve itself and lay down its arms following the call from İmralı is an important step towards a terror-free Türkiye," he wrote on X.

"The full and concrete implementation of the decision to dissolve and surrender arms... will be a turning point."

PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the United States and the European Union.

The declaration was the culmination of seven months of work to renew long-stalled talks that began last October.

Çelik, however, said the decision must apply to all “PKK branches, affiliates and illegal structures.” He did not elaborate, but the statement appeared to be in reference to YPG, which Ankara sees as PKK's Syrian wing.

The leader of the YPG-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) had previously stated that Öcalan’s call for a ceasefire does not apply to his group in Syria.

Details of the peace initiative have not been made public, and it was not clear how the process would proceed, including how weapons would be disposed of and who would monitor the procedures.

The future of PKK members remains uncertain, including whether they may be relocated to third countries.

Previous peace efforts between Türkiye and the terror group — most recently in 2015 — ended in failure.

The latest initiative was launched in October by Devlet Bahçeli, the leader of Erdoğan's coalition partner, the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), who proposed that Öcalan could be granted parole if his organization renounces terrorism and disbands.

The day after, Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) lawmaker Ömer Öcalan was allowed to visit his uncle at İmralı last October — the first such visit in nearly four years.

Subsequent visits by senior DEM Party figures Sırrı Süreyya Önder and Pervin Buldan to the prison have taken place since then.

Efforts to advance the process included a key meeting between the party's İmralı visitors and Erdoğan on April 10. Momentum appeared to stall following Önder’s death on May 3 after suffering a heart attack.

However, in a weekend speech, Erdoğan hinted the dissolution could be announced at any moment, saying that the government is "advancing with firm steps on the path toward the goal of a terror-free Türkiye."