The Kurdish PKK group on Wednesday, July 2 said that some elements of the Turkish government are seeking to undermine a historic disarmament process meant to put an end to decades of conflict. The PKK, or Kurdistan Workers' Party, in May declared an end to its armed conflict and was expected to hold a series of ceremonies to destroy its weapons.
But Mustafa Karasu, one of the group's founders and top leaders, told a Kurdish-linked television station that "a group at the heart of the state is seeking to sabotage the process". "We are ready, but it is the (Turkish) government that has not taken the needed steps," he said. Karasu cited continued Turkish military strikes on PKK positions in northern Irak as well as the lack of improvement in the prison conditions of the PKK's founder Abdullah Ocalan.
Ocalan, now 76, has been held at the Imrali island jail since 1999. In February, he called on the PKK to lay down its weapons after decades of conflict with the Turkish state that has left at least 45,000 people dead. "Some friends have gone to Imrali, but it's not enough. The isolation has lasted for 26 years," despite some adjustments, Karasu said. "The situation of our leader affects the process and slows it down," he said.
Karasu did not confirm if any disarmament ceremonies were still planned. "We want the process to continue and flourish. But the situation leads us to observe a blockage. The government's attitude is the cause," he said.