PKK move to disband welcomed by Turkish politics, int'l actors
ANKARA
PKK's decision to disband and lay down arms has drawn broad approval from Turkish political leaders and international actors as a historic opportunity for peace.
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.
Erdoğan also said Monday that Türkiye had reached a “critical threshold” in its decades-long fight against terrorism, following an announcement that the outlawed PKK has decided to disband and lay down its arms.
Erdoğan called the move “historic” and emphasized its significance for national unity and security. “We have opened another critical chapter on our path toward a terror-free Türkiye,” he said. “The decision announced by the terrorist organization to dissolve itself and hand over its weapons is an important step for ensuring the security of our nation and reinforcing the eternal fraternity of our people.”
Erdoğan noted that Turkish intelligence and other state institutions would “closely monitor” the implementation of the disbandment process to ensure no “deviation or security lapse.” He added that further details would be shared with the public in the coming days.
Türkiye’s Communications Director Fahrettin Altun said Monday that Türkiye will take all necessary measures to ensure that the dissolution and disarmament of the terrorist group PKK proceeds smoothly.
In a statement on X, Altun addressed the terror group PKK's decision to dissolve and lay down its arms, calling it a milestone in President Erdoğan's "Terror-Free Türkiye" initiative.
This is a clear indication that the "Terror-Free Türkiye" process, led by President Erdoğan, has reached a crucial stage with strengthened momentum, he said.
AKP spokesperson Ömer Çelik said the decisions would open the door to a new era if they were "implemented in practice 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."
Çelik, however, said the decision must apply to all “PKK branches, affiliates and illegal structures.”
AKP vice chair Efkan Ala echoed the sentiment, noting that "mechanisms to manage the process would be activated as required."
PKK is recognized as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the United States and the European Union.
Tuncer Bakırhan, co-chair of the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), said the move "eliminated all justifications for avoiding democratic reform."
DEM Party lawmaker Pervin Buldan, a key figure in the peace initiative, praised the move for "creating an atmosphere that we will embrace with hope."
“A new era has begun in which we will remove the barbed wires and crown peace... May it be a blessing,” she told private broadcaster CNN Türk.
For his part, Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli said he hoped “the bloody page written with treason will be closed never to be opened again.”
"The atmosphere of peace and security must be absolutely permanent and realistic," he said in a written statement.
"The swamp of prejudices must be drained, trumped-up quarrels must be ended, planned tensions that are the stage for cheap polemics must be ended, brackets of ideological, unprincipled and primitive obsessions must be closed."
Bahçeli also expressed gratitude to Erdoğan, the AKP, the DEM Party and jailed PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan for their roles in facilitating the development.
Ali Mahir Başarır, a parliamentary leader from the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), urged the politics to "embrace the process" but said it must be managed through the parliament.
“It is of course important for the guns to fall silent and the blood to stop,” Başarır told Karar TV on YouTube. "But steps must also protect the honor of the families of nearly 50,000 martyrs."
CHP leader Özgür Özel earlier voiced support for a "terror-free Türkiye" during a rally in Van over the weekend.
Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunç called the development “a turning point on the way to getting rid of the terror scourge,” vowing that Türkiye would continue advancing with “determination toward the light of brotherhood and stability.”
The announcement was also welcomed abroad. Iraq’s Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) President Nechirvan Barzani described the decision as a sign of “political maturity” that could pave the way for regional coexistence.
“This lays the foundation for a lasting peace that would end decades of violence, pain and suffering,” Barzani said, adding that the Kurdish region would support efforts to secure “this historic opportunity.”
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres welcomed the announcement as an "important" step towards a solution.
Guterres' spokesperson, Stephane Dujarric, during a news conference, said that the "secretary-general welcomes the news of the decision of the Kurdistan Workers Party, known as the PKK, to dissolve and disarm."
The European Union urged all parties to seize the moment to launch a credible peace process.
“Launching a credible peace process, aiming for a political solution to the Kurdish issue, would be a positive step,” said EU foreign affairs spokesperson Anouar El Anouni.
