The Kurdistan Workers’ Party Ends a 40-year Armed Struggle
X/ @France24_en
May 12, 2025 Hour: 8:29 am
The former PKK militants will seek a resolution to the Kurdish issue through political means.
After concluding its 12th congress, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) announced the end of an armed struggle that began four decades ago.
RELATED:
Türkiye Intensifies Operations Against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party
“This historic decision marks the conclusion of decades of armed conflict and signals a new phase in Kurdish political activism. The organization declared that its historical mission has been fulfilled after bringing the Kurdish issue to a level where it can be resolved through democratic political means,” KFuture Media commented.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan referred to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party’s announcement as a “historic decision.”
“I consider this decision especially significant in terms of lasting peace and stability. There are practical steps that must be taken following this decision, and we will closely monitor them,” he said during a joint press conference with Foreign Ministers Ayman Safadi of Jordan and Asaad al-Shaibani of Syria.
The Turkish minister said that if the end of armed struggle is implemented with “sincerity,” it will benefit the country’s future. He also stated that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s “firm determination” played a decisive role in securing the PKK’s dissolution.
Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) called on the PKK to follow through on its declaration, according to AKP spokesperson Ömer Çelik, who described the guerrilla’s statement as a step toward a “terrorism-free Turkey.”
Mehmet Uçum, an adviser to Erdogan, announced that once the guerrilla movement is dissolved, his country will begin a series of democratic and legal reforms. However, he did not provide details.
The PKK was founded in 1978 and began its armed struggle six years later in an effort to secure independence for Türkiye’s Kurdish population and create a Kurdish state. It has since abandoned its goal of independence and now seeks expanded political and cultural rights for the Kurdish minority.
The PKK’s announcement today comes in response to an appeal made in late February from prison by the group’s founder and leader, Abdullah Öcalan.
teleSUR/ JF
Sources: EFE – KFuture Media
