Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson: No new date or venue has been set for the meeting between Araghchi and Witkoff, and no negotiations will take place until the outcome is guaranteed
Palestinian platforms: Settlers storm Al-Aqsa Mosque complex under the protection of the occupation police
Palestinian platforms: The IOF detonated a booby-trapped robot east of the al-Zaytoun neighborhood, south of Gaza City
Syrian Defense: We call on all parties in Sweida to cooperate with security forces and exercise restraint
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: The Lebanese Army is continuing its investigations and will later announce any information that does not affect the confidentiality of the investigation
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: It has not yet been determined whether the detainees belong to ISIS or another organization
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: Around 10 people of different nationalities, including Lebanese nationals, were detained
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: The Lebanese army arrested a number of people in the Matn area of Mount Lebanon with possession it has not disclosed
Gaza Civil Defense spokesman: We have strong indications that there are martyrs, injuries, and trapped people in the Salah al-Din area
Gaza Civil Defense spokesman: Citizens should avoid Salah al-Din Street because anyone who approaches it is at risk of being directly targeted

PKK announces dissolution after four-decade insurgency against Turkey

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Agencies
  • 12 May 2025 11:53
4 Min Read

The PKK ends its armed struggle against Turkey, responding to its founder's call for disarmament as Ankara pledges to monitor the process closely.

Listen
  • x
  • PKK
    Pro-Kurdish activist wave a Kurdistan Workers Party, PKK, flag and shout slogans as they protest against the Turkish military operation, Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2019. (AP)

The Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) announced on Monday that it is dissolving its organization and ending its armed struggle against the Turkish state since 1984, bringing a close to a bloody conflict that has spanned more than four decades and claimed over 40,000 lives.

Founded in 1978 by Abdullah Ocalan, the Marxist-Leninist group led a militant campaign originally aimed at securing an independent Kurdish state. It later shifted its goals to pursuing greater Kurdish rights and limited autonomy in southeast Turkey.

Formal end to armed struggle

"The 12th PKK Congress has decided to dissolve the PKK's organisational structure and end its method of armed struggle," the group said in a statement published by the pro-Kurdish ANF news agency.

"The PKK has completed its historic mission," it pointed out, according to ANF.

The statement indicated that the group's 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 announcement followed an appeal from Ocalan on February 27. Speaking from Imrali prison island, where he has been held since 1999, Ocalan urged his fighters to disarm and called for a congress to formalize the decision. That congress was held last week in Iraq’s Kandil mountains, long considered a PKK stronghold.

PKK leadership declared a ceasefire and adopted "decisions of historic importance," according to ANF.

Erdogan’s party welcomes PKK dissolution

Related News

'Turkey has won': Erdogan hails PKK disarmament

Iraq welcomes PKK’s disarmament as step toward regional stability

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) welcomed the announcement. AKP spokesperson Omer Celik described it as "an important step" and emphasized that its implementation would be "meticulously monitored" by the Turkish government.

If the decision were "implemented in practice and realised in all its dimensions," it would open the door to a new era, he emphasized.

"The PKK's decision to dissolve itself and lay down its arms following the call from Imrali is an important step towards a terror-free Turkey," Celik stressed.

Renewed talks and political shifts

The declaration marks the culmination of seven months of renewed dialogue following a proposal in October 2024 by Devlet Bahceli, leader of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and Erdogan’s ally.

Bahceli had shocked Ankara by suggesting Ocalan could be released if he ended the PKK’s insurgency.

Erdogan’s AKP supported the initiative, while the pro-Kurdish DEM party held talks with Ocalan in prison. The PKK responded with an immediate ceasefire and expressed willingness to convene a congress, though it requested that security conditions be met so Ocalan could personally oversee the process.

PKK’s regional presence

The PKK, listed as a "terrorist organization" by Turkey, the United States, and the European Union, has maintained operations in northern Iraq, where Turkey has conducted cross-border military campaigns involving drone and air strikes.

Baghdad, which designated the PKK a banned group, has accused Ankara of violating Iraqi sovereignty.

The PKK also operated in Syria until 1998, when Ocalan was forced to flee under mounting Turkish pressure. He was captured by Turkish special forces in Kenya several months later and sentenced to death by a Turkish court in 1999. Following the abolition of the death penalty in Turkey, his sentence was commuted to life imprisonment in October 2002.

Ocalan's capture led to a significant reduction in hostilities, with PKK fighters withdrawing from Turkey. However, after a resurgence of violence, Ankara and the PKK entered into peace negotiations in late 2012. The talks collapsed in July 2015, triggering one of the deadliest phases of the conflict and causing widespread destruction in parts of southeastern Turkey.

In Syria, Turkey continues to target the Kurdish-led People's Defense Units (YPG), which it sees as a PKK affiliate. Though the YPG is the backbone of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighting the Islamic State, Ankara considers it a "national security threat."

Following the ouster of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in December, Turkey increased pressure for the YPG’s disbandment and threatened military action if its demands were not met.

Talks involving Turkish, US, Syrian, and Kurdish officials are ongoing to reach a long-term agreement regarding the future of Syrian Kurdish fighters.

  • Turkey
  • Kurdistan Workers' Party
  • PKK
  • Abdullah Ocalan

Most Read

Hezbollah SG reveals war details on Al Mayadeen for the first time

Hezbollah SG reveals war details on Al Mayadeen for the first time

  • Politics
  • 8 Jul 2025
Major ambush in Gaza kills 6 Israeli troops, injures dozens

Major ambush in Gaza kills 5 Israeli troops, injures 14

  • Politics
  • 8 Jul 2025
Israeli soldiers are seen in Beit Hanoun ahead of an operation by the al-Qassam Brigades, undated (Al-Qassam Brigades Military Media)

'Israel' on blast as media exposes report discrepancies in Gaza ambush

  • Palestine
  • 8 Jul 2025
Yemen Navy sinks ETERNITY C ship, shares footage of operation

Yemen Navy sinks ETERNITY C ship, shares footage of operation

  • Politics
  • 9 Jul 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
The Freedom Flotilla ship Handala as it departs for Gaza, where it aims to break the maritime blockade at a port in Syracuse, Sicily in southern Italy on July 13, 2025. (AFP)
Palestine

Freedom Flotilla's Handala departs Sicily in bid to break Gaza siege

The container ship CMA CGM Laperouse, left, docks at the Georgia Ports Authority's Port of Savannah, Sept. 29, 2021, in Savannah, Ga (AP)
Politics

US shipbuilding woes deepen as tariffs, outdated policies backfire

Gaza war raises ethical questions for ex-Obama, Biden officials
Politics

Mercenary firm tied to Gaza war crimes hires Obama-Biden PR operatives

'Israel' targets children in Gaza collecting water
Palestine

'Israel' strikes Gaza kids fetching water, blames it on 'malfunction'

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS