Thirty PKK fighters destroyed their weapons at a symbolic ceremony in Iraqi Kurdistan on Friday, July 11, two months after the Kurdish rebels ended their decades-long armed struggle against the Turkish state. The ceremony marked a major step in the transition of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) from armed insurgency to democratic politics, as part of a broader effort to bring an end to one of the region's longest-running conflicts.
The PKK's disarmament also grants President Recep Tayyip Erdogan the distinction of being the Turkish leader who managed to draw a line under a bloody conflict that cost more than 40,000 lives and wrought havoc in Turkey and beyond.
Outside the ancient cave of Casene, a group of 30 PKK fighters, men and women, gathered on a stage in khaki fatigues, their faces uncovered, in front of an audience of around 300 people, an Agence France-Presse (AFP) correspondent at the scene said. One by one, they walked down to lay their weapons in a cauldron in which a fire was lit. Most were rifles, but there was one machine gun and a rocket-propelled grenade launcher. As they looked on, people in the crowd started cheering while others could be heard weeping. After the ceremony, the fighters returned to the mountains, a PKK commander said.
Speaking to AFP after the ceremony, the PKK's top female commander Bese Hozat said that for the process to succeed, it was essential to release Abdullah Öcalan – known to his followers as "Apo" – who has been serving life in solitary confinement since 1999.
"Ensuring Leader Apo's physical freedom via legal guarantees, is essential... he should be able to freely lead and manage this process. This is our primary condition and demand," she said. "Without this development, it is highly unlikely that the process will continue successfully."
Erdogan hailed the ceremony as an "important step" on the path to a "terror-free Turkey," expressing hope it would lead to "the establishment of lasting peace in our region." And a senior Turkish official source described it as a "concrete and welcome step." The following steps would involve the legal reintegration of former fighters into society, the establishment of mechanisms for their lawful return and for justice, ensuring accountability and stability.
PKK militants have insisted on the need for legal reform in Turkey to allow them to return home freely and engage in democratic politics, Commander Hozat told AFP. "If Turkey… enacts laws and implements radical legal reforms… we will go to Turkey and engage in politics," she said. "If there is no legal constitutional arrangements, we will either end up in prison or being killed." The ceremony followed months of indirect negotiations between Öcalan and Ankara that began in October with Erdogan's blessing, and were facilitated by Turkey's pro-Kurdish DEM party.
The PKK took up arms in 1984, beginning a string of bloody attacks on Turkish soil that sparked a conflict that cost more than 40,000 lives. But more than four decades on, the PKK in May announced its dissolution, saying it would pursue a democratic struggle to defend the rights of the Kurdish minority in line with a historic call by Öcalan, who, at 76, has spent the past 26 years behind bars.