The PKK terrorist group could begin to hand over its weapons in the coming days, according to Iraqi media based in the Iraqi Kurdistan region – where the armed organisation has its main bases – after the group’s leader Abdullah Öcalan made a historic call last February for its disbandment, considering that the PKK “has reached the end of its lifespan“.
According to the website of Rudaw, an Iraqi media outlet based in Erbil, the disarmament process will begin in early July and will take place in Iraqi Kurdistan; Rudaw cites sources close to the process as saying that PKK members will participate in a ceremony that will take place “between July 3 and July 10” in Sulaymaniyah – an important city in northern Iraq where the PKK (which has declared a ceasefire since 1 March) has the support of some local political parties – and which will also be attended by the media.
“In the next few days, Abdullah Ocalan, the jailed leader of the PKK, will publish a new message about the process, and after that, the disarmament process will begin,” said a source quoted by Rudaw as saying, implying that the disarmament and disbandment of the group will be then made official. Another source said that the ceremony will be attended by “a number of PKK fighters – ranging between 20 to 30“, who later will “return to where they currently live, meaning they will not return to the cities”.
The PKK, considered a terrorist organisation by much of the international community including the EU and the United States, as well as in Turkey, announced in mid-May – following Öcalan’s appeal – its dissolution and the end of the armed struggle, which it began in 1984 to achieve its political objectives, based on a Marxist ideology and initially aimed at creating an independent Kurdish state in the region, evolving years later towards the search for some kind of autonomy in Turkey.
In more than 40 years of conflict, it is estimated that more than 40,000 people have lost their lives, including PKK members, Turkish security forces and civilians killed in attacks.
VOTE
EDITORIAL TEAM
🧿 About us
.
Edited and reviewed by:
Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
…
📣 Your ADVERTISING on Hispanatolia
.
🤗 HELP US WITH A DONATION:
💗 Paypal
