The separatist Kurdish group, the PKK, has agreed to lay down arms to end a 40-year war for autonomy against Turkey, a historic step that could strengthen the Nato member’s aspirations to become a regional powerhouse.
The PKK decided to disarm and disband at a congress last week, the pro-Kurdish ANF news agency reported on Monday, after declaring a ceasefire on March 1st.
The group has been affiliated with US-backed Syrian Kurdish forces and the decision could ease tensions between Ankara and Washington over the future of Kurds and power sharing in Turkey’s southeastern neighbour.
“The congress has assessed that PKK struggle has destroyed the policy of rejection and destruction against our people and has led the Kurdish issue to the point of solution via democratic politics, and that in this respect, the PKK has completed its historical mission,” ANF cited a statement from the congress as saying.
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It is unclear whether Turkey will offer safe passage for the group’s leadership to third countries or declare amnesty for thousands of militants if they return home. The PKK said its imprisoned leader, Abdullah Ocalan, should lead the political process, according to the statement.
“At this stage, it’s important for parliament to play its role with a historic responsibility.”
The conflict with the PKK has exacted a heavy toll on Turkey, with an estimated 40,000 people – most of them Kurds – killed since the insurgency began in 1984, including both militants and civilians.
During the height of the fighting in the 1990s, Turkish military campaigns in the southeast emptied entire villages, displacing hundreds of thousands and fuelling chronic regional instability.
Urban centres such as Istanbul and Ankara were repeatedly targeted in PKK-linked bombings, eroding public confidence and contributing to security concerns that weighed on tourism, investment and domestic political cohesion.
Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan has made resolving the Kurdish conflict a central aim as he seeks to thwart what he sees as the growing threat of Kurdish nationalism in the region. If successful, it would boost Turkey’s aspirations to reshape the Middle East and burnish support for Mr Erdogan as he seeks to rewrite the constitution and extend his two-decade long rule.
Turkey is now facing the question of how to address demands from the PKK and the pro-Kurdish DEM party to improve rights for the ethnic group. They are calling for recognition of Kurdish identity and culture in the country’s constitution and permission for Kurdish language teaching in schools, alongside the devolution of more powers to local authorities in Turkey’s Kurdish majority southeast.
Kurds make up almost a fifth of Turkey’s 90 million population. The bloody conflict has claimed tens of thousands of lives since the PKK took up arms for autonomy in 1984. – Bloomberg
