The surrender of weapons by members of the Kurdistan Labor Party () in the city of Suleimaniya in northern Iraq, in the presence of a delegation of the pro -Kurdish equality of the peoples and democracy (DEM). After 47 years, it is made in the context of the decision taken by the organization, responding to the appeal of its imprisoned leader.
Around 11 t morning, her weapons were handed over a group of 30 to 44 members of the PKK, in a symbolic ceremony near the outskirts of Mount Kandil where the main base of the organization’s armed men is located.
This ceremony essentially marks the formal start of disarmament that is expected, according to Turkish officials, to take about five months.
Weapons will burn in a giant cauldron
CNN Türk journalist Umit Uzun, referring to developments in the region, said: “It is said that some of the weapons will be symbolically burned to establish confidence in this process. We’ve heard that. ” CNN Türk’s news manager in Constantinople confirmed the information.
The event was not allowed to allow the entry of image and audio recording and, as the visual material had been announced in advance, will be distributed to the media after the event.
“From now on, in order to continue our struggle for freedom, democracy and socialism by democratic political and legal means and on the basis of the establishment of laws for democratic integration, we destroy our weapons with free will,” said a statement by the so -called “social group”.
In addition to the members of the PKK, Turkish officials were mainly MITI officials, representatives of the Northern Kurdish Kurdish Government, leaders of the pro -Kurdish Equality and Democracy Party (DEM), who had previously intervened between the Turks and the Turks between of the Iraqi government and Turkish and international journalists through information.
The conference of the Kurdistan Labor Party last May had decided to self -dissolution of the organization and ending its armed action, aligned with the appeal of the prisoner of Abdullah Ocalan.
Abdullah Ocalan from prison on the island of Imrali had appealed on February 27 this year to dismantle his PKK and disarmament, responding to the proposal by President Erdogan’s government partner, the extreme nationalist.
To coordinate the relevant actions, the leader of the Turkish Intelligence Service MIT, Ibrahim Kalin, had visited areas of the autonomous northern Iraq in previous days.
Ocalan along with other prisoners of PKK, in a photo released on Wednesday 9 July 2025
