Fighters from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) have begun ceremonially surrendering their weapons in Iraq. In May, the movement announced it would cease its armed struggle. According to Turkey, an “irreversible point” has been reached with the disarmament.
Footage shows several dozen men and women placing machine guns in a large fire pit. Among them are four commanders. The ceremony took place in the Kurdish north of Iraq. Journalists and local politicians from both Iraq and Turkey were present.
“We are voluntarily destroying our weapons, in your presence, as a step of goodwill and determination,” a senior representative of the group told those present. It is expected that many more of these types of weapon surrenders will take place in the coming months.
A Turkish government representative told news agency Reuters that an “irreversible point” has been reached with the disarmament. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says on X that he hopes the disarmament will lead to “peace in the country and security in the region”.
In May, the PKK announced that it would disband itself and continue its struggle through political channels. The founder of the PKK, Abdullah Öcalan, had called for this from imprisonment.
Öcalan had previously urged dissolution, but then the rapprochement talks with Turkey repeatedly stalled. Now both parties have progressed further in the process.
PKK aims for more rights for Kurds in Turkey
The PKK, which is active in both Turkey and Iraq, strives for more rights for the Kurds. This population group is particularly disadvantaged in Turkey. Until the 1990s, the goal of the PKK was also the establishment of its own state of Kurdistan, which would include parts of Turkey and Iraq.
More than 40,000 people have died in the PKK’s struggle. The organization is on the terror list of both Turkey, the European Union and the United States.