The armed group of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) reported this Sunday that it is “withdrawing” all its fighters from Turkish territory as a way of contributing to the peace process that it is negotiating with the Government of Ankara and that, last May, led to this organization being considered terrorist by Turkey, the EU and the United States and whose war with the Turkish security forces has caused a conflict that has claimed more than 40,000 lives since 1984.
This announcement was made by three Kurdish guerrilla leaders at a point in northern Iraq after a group of 25 militants from the group – men and women – crossed the mountainous border heading south. The withdrawal of PKK forces towards northern Iraq is being carried out to avoid “the risk of clashes and provocations”, according to the statement from the armed organization, which also claims to have taken measures to prevent fighting from occurring in this border area, where it has its main bases. The announcement comes after people close to the Turkish government warned this week of the possibility of “provocations” aimed at derailing the peace process.
Ömer Çelik, spokesman for the AKP, the party that has governed Turkey since 2002, valued the new step taken by the armed group as “a positive result” of the process towards the goal of “a Turkey free of terrorism.” But he also warned of the need to monitor with the symbolic burning of an arsenal. “Extreme caution must be taken to protect the process from all types of provocations. We are aware of the sabotage attempts (…) of those who promote policies of chaos in our region,” said Çelik in a veiled reference to Israel, a country that has launched several messages proposing establishing an alliance with the Syrian Kurdish militias, twinned with the PKK.
The founder and ideological leader of the PKK, Abdullah Öcalan, imprisoned for life on the Turkish prison island of Imrali, and asked the PKK’s dependent structures to dissolve, which the group’s leadership approved in May.
According to the Turkish Government, this is also the responsibility of the Syrian Kurdish militias that control a third of the country. In parallel to the peace process in Türkiye, the new Government in Damascus, led by the Salafist Ahmed al Shara (who has the support of Ankara), is . In Syria, the process has not advanced as far as it needs to, and fighting has periodically occurred between government forces and Kurdish militias, although this month, Kurdish commander Mazlum Abdi announced that an agreement in principle has been reached for the integration of Kurdish fighters into the Syrian army.
Releases
After a decade of military operations in which Türkiye’s security forces have gained the upper hand militarily, there are hardly any militants of the Kurdish armed group left within Turkish territory. Despite this, analyst Mete Çubukçu considered on NTV television that the PKK’s new announcement is an “important” measure, as it is one more “step” in the pacification process, which will also prevent the use of possible secret arsenals that may have remained in Turkish territory.
In its statement this Sunday, the PKK said it was “committed” to the negotiations, but asked the Turkish Government to also take steps; specifically, to approve a transition law that allows the reintegration of its militants into Turkish political life. Some Kurdish nationalists complain that the Turkish government has not made progress as it should on demands such as the extension of the use of the Kurdish language or democratizing measures. The possible concessions made by the Executive are closely monitored by Turkish nationalist parties to exploit the rejection they arouse among part of Turkish society.
However, steps have been taken, although almost secretly. Around 800 prisoners have been released in recent months, including former PKK militants, as sources with knowledge of these releases explained to this newspaper. These are, for the most part, low-ranking political officials and militants or sick prisoners. On the other hand, the Government has refused to release Selahattin Demirtas, former leader of the main Kurdish party in Turkey and in prison since 2016. In fact, on October 7, the Turkish Ministry of Justice maneuvered at the last minute to avoid having to comply with a new sentence from the European Court of Human Rights that
