The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), a militant group engaged in a 40-year insurgency against Turkey, has announced its decision to disband and cease armed struggle, according to the Firat News Agency, a media outlet closely linked to the group.
The move marks a pivotal moment in a conflict that has claimed over 40,000 lives since 1984.
The PKK’s decision was formalized during its 12th Congress, held last week in northern Iraq, where the group is based.
The congress was convened in response to a February call from the PKK’s imprisoned leader, Abdullah Öcalan, urging the group to dissolve.
Referring to Öcalan by his nickname, the group stated:
The PKK 12th Congress decided to dissolve the PKK’s organizational structure, with the practical process to be managed and carried out by Leader Apo, and to end the armed struggle method.— PKK statement.
The statement added that activities under the PKK name have been formally terminated.
The PKK emphasized that its decades-long struggle has elevated the Kurdish issue to a stage where it can be resolved through democratic means.
“The PKK struggle has broken the policy of denial and annihilation of our people and brought the Kurdish issue to a point of solving it through democratic politics,” the group declared.
The congress also assessed that the PKK had “completed its historic mission.”
The dissolution is expected to have significant political and security ramifications for Turkey and neighboring countries like Iraq and Syria, where Kurdish forces operate.
In Turkey, the decision could pave the way for economic development in the predominantly Kurdish southeast, long hampered by the conflict.
Omer Celik, spokesperson for President Tayyip Erdogan’s AK Party, called the move “an important step toward a terror-free Turkey.”
The announcement follows a unilateral ceasefire declared by the PKK on March 1, which included conditions for peace negotiations.
On Monday, Turkey’s lira remained steady at 38.7375 against the dollar, while the main share index rose 2.4%.
Turkey’s foreign ministry has yet to comment officially.
The PKK, designated a terrorist organization by Turkey and its Western allies, had previously engaged in intermittent peace efforts, including a 2013-2015 ceasefire that ultimately failed.
This latest development signals a potential end to one of the region’s longest-running conflicts.