Istanbul (Special to Informed Comment; Feature) – After nearly five decades of armed conflict with the Turkish state, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) has begun a symbolic disarmament process as part of ongoing peace efforts.
On July 11, a ceremony was held in the Jasana Cave, located in northern Iraq’s Sulaymaniyah Governorate. Thirty PKK members, comprising 15 men and 15 women, wearing military fatigues and referring to themselves as the “Group for Peace and Democratic Society,” read statements in both Turkish and Kurdish. The militants then placed their AK-47 assault rifles, bandoliers, and other weapons into a large gray cauldron and set them on fire.
During the ceremony, senior PKK member Bese Hozat stated that the group was voluntarily destroying its weapons as a gesture of goodwill. She claimed that their movement would now continue through legal and political channels rather than armed struggle.
Founded in 1978 by Abdullah Öcalan, the PKK launched a full-scale insurgency against Türkiye in 1984, initially demanding Kurdish independence and greater cultural rights. The group, designated as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the US, EU, and the UK, has engaged in guerrilla warfare, attacks, and bombings, resulting in over 40,000 deaths and significant economic disruption.
How Did the Peace Process Begin?
The current peace process was initiated on October 22, 2024, by Devlet Bahçeli, the leader of the ultranationalist Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and a key political ally of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Bahçeli suggested that Abdullah Öcalan, who has been imprisoned on İmralı Island since 1999, could be allowed to address the Turkish parliament or be placed under house arrest if he renounced violence and dissolved the PKK. This was an unexpected move as Bahçeli and the MHP had historically opposed any negotiations with the PKK.
Following Bahçeli’s statements, the government allowed a meeting between Öcalan and a DEM Party delegation on December 28. This meeting allowed Öcalan to speak directly with Kurdish political representatives about the possibility of a new peace process.
On February 27, 2025, Öcalan released a statement calling for the PKK to lay down arms and dissolve the organization. The PKK leadership, based in the Qandil Mountains of northern Iraq, declared a unilateral ceasefire on March 1. Then, on May 12, it formally announced that it would disband and end its armed campaign.
The Jasana Cave, where the disarmament ceremony later took place, holds symbolic value in Kurdish history. After World War I, the cave served as the headquarters of Sheikh Mahmud Barzanji during his rebellion against the British-backed Kingdom of Iraq. It was also the site of the printing press for Bangi Haq (“Call for Truth”), regarded as the first Kurdish revolutionary newspaper.
In more recent history, the cave provided shelter for Peshmerga fighters during the Ba’athist regime.
Erdoğan’s “Turk-Kurd-Arab Alliance” Rhetoric
Following the disarmament ceremony, on July 12, Erdoğan described the event as a turning point in the government’s “Terror-Free Türkiye Project.” He said the 47-year conflict had entered a phase that could lead to its conclusion. Erdoğan also framed the moment as the beginning of a “new page in history” for the country.
Erdoğan also acknowledged past state abuses that had fueled the conflict, including extrajudicial killings, the destruction of Kurdish villages, and restrictions on the Kurdish language.
In the same speech, Erdoğan repeatedly referenced the concept of a “Turk-Kurd-Arab alliance,” which he referred to as the “Jerusalem Alliance,” and said, “We, namely Turks, Kurds, Arabs, when we formed an alliance, the breeze from our horses spread cool winds from the China Sea to the Adriatic.”
Some Turkish analysts drew parallels between Erdoğan’s rhetoric and recent comments by the U.S. Ambassador to Türkiye and Special Envoy for Syria, Tom Barrack. In his June 26 interview with Anadolu Agency, Barrack praised the Ottoman Empire’s millet system as an effective historical model for managing ethnic and religious diversity.
Cumhuriyet columnist Mehmet Ali Güller argued that Washington supports a Turkish-Kurdish-Arab alliance as a counterweight to Iran in the region. Meanwhile, Sol columnist Fatih Yaşlı claimed that the overlap between Erdoğan’s and Barrack’s statements was not coincidental and Erdoğan is not approaching the peace process through frameworks of citizenship, democracy, or human rights, but rather through the lens of religious solidarity, and aiming to unite Turks and Kurds under the concept of Islamic brotherhood.
On July 13, the leader of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), Özgür Özel, criticized Erdoğan’s statements. Despite supporting the peace process, Özel rejected the idea of a “Turk-Kurd-Arab alliance” built around the idea of an ummah, Sunni sectarianism, and Islamism, and accused Erdoğan of attempting to craft a fictional coalition for political gain.
Next Steps in the Peace Process
The AKP spokesman Ömer Çelik said the disarmament process must be completed within 3 to 5 months, warning that if it takes longer, it could become “vulnerable to provocations.”
The next steps in the peace process include establishing a parliamentary commission. The commission is expected to consist of 35 members, and the political parties with parliamentary groups will be equally represented.
File Photo. Not related to PKK. Photo of a Kurdish man in southeastern Anatolian area of Hizan, Bitlis, Türkiye, populated by Kurds of the Bekiran tribe, by Zeki Okur on Unsplash
Erdoğan further stirred political speculation by declaring that the AKP, MHP, and DEM Party would “walk this road together.” Many interpreted this as a signal of a potential tripartite alliance. It also reignited talks about possible constitutional reforms aimed at extending Erdoğan’s presidency beyond 2028.
Currently, the AKP-MHP bloc, along with smaller parties in the People’s Alliance, controls 324 seats in the 600-member parliament, falling short of the 360 needed to propose a constitutional referendum. Adding DEM’s 57 seats would allow the AKP to propose a referendum, but they would still need the backing of 19 more MPs to pass any constitutional amendments without a referendum vote.
However, on July 14, DEM Party co-chair Tülay Hatimoğulları ruled out such an alliance in an interview with Halk TV. Additionally, BBC News Türkçe reported that officials from the DEM Party emphasized that Türkiye’s democratization is essential for resolving the Kurdish issue and that they consider the CHP’s support crucial in this process.
Still, challenges remain. Despite ongoing peace efforts, prominent pro-Kurdish figures remain imprisoned. Selahattin Demirtaş, former co-chair of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) and presidential candidate in both 2014 and 2018, has been in jail since November 2016. Figen Yüksekdağ, also a former HDP co-chair, has been detained on similar terror-related charges since that year.
On July 8, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Demirtaş’s detention was unlawful. In response, the DEM Party officially called for the release of both leaders on July 11, the same day as the disarmament ceremony.
© 2025 All Rights Reserved