Kurdish PKK militia to disband for Turkey talks
The Kurdistan Workers' Party will disarm after four decades of armed conflict with Turkey, putting an end to 'one of the longest insurgencies in the Middle East'
What happened
The Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) said Monday that it will disband and disarm after four decades of armed conflict with Turkey. The decision was announced through the Firat News Agency, a media outlet close to the PKK, after a party congress in northern Iraq.
Who said what
Jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan called for his group to disband in February, and the PKK declared a ceasefire March 1, on condition that Turkey create a legal framework for peace talks. "The PKK has completed its historic mission" and "decided to dissolve" its "organizational structure" and "end the armed struggle," the group said in a statement Monday morning.
The decision "promises to put an end to one of the longest insurgencies in the Middle East," The Associated Press said. It should have "far-reaching political and security consequences for the region, including in neighboring Iraq and also in Syria, where Kurdish forces are allied with U.S. forces," Reuters said. The insurgency, which has claimed more than 40,000 lives since 1984, also "handicapped the regional economy for decades." Omer Celik, a spokesperson for Turkey's ruling AK Party, said the PKK's decision was an "important step toward a terror-free Turkey."
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What next?
"Details of the peace initiative have not been made public," including what will happen to the PKK's fighters, "how weapons would be disposed of and who would monitor" the process, the AP said. "Previous peace efforts between Turkey and the group — most recently in 2015 — have ended with failure."
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