The disarmament ceremony, held on July 11th at the entrance of Jasana cave, near Dukan, in the Sulaymaniyah province ountryside of Southern Kurdistan (Northern Iraq), took place in the presence of Kurdish, Iraqi, and Turkish officials. The fighters laid down assault rifles and ammunition in a cauldron, whose flames rose towards the sky.
This symbolic action follows the decision by the PKK, outlawed since 1984 for its fighting methods, to disband, disarm, and abandon its separatist struggle. This decision responds to the call of its historic leader, Abdullah Öcalan, who has been imprisoned since 1999: “We hope that this step will bring peace and freedom and have propitious outcomes for our people, for the peoples of Turkey and the Middle East, and for all humanity, especially for women and youth.” In February 2025, there was a historic appeal from Öcalan from İmralı high-security prison, requesting an end to the PKK’s armed struggle and its dissolution. This appeal was reiterated and confirmed in early July 2025, with the release of a video message from Öcalan, his first in 26 years, in which he reaffirmed his desire for the PKK’s disarmament and dissolution. These appeals are part of a broader context of “political recalibration” in Turkey regarding the Kurdish issue, with the hope of renewed dialogue aimed at resolving decades of conflict through non-violent means.
The PKK, which was considered a terrorist group by Turkey, the European Union, and the United States, announced its dissolution after a congress held in northern Iraq. Bese Hozat, one of the PKK’s leaders, read the disarmament statement: “In order to ensure the practical success of the ‘Peace and Democratic Society’ process, and to conduct our struggle with methods of legal and democratic politics, we voluntarily destroy our weapons as a gesture of goodwill and determination,” repeating it in Kurdish.
Iraqi Kurdish security forces, including helicopters, monitored the area due to the importance of the event. Representatives from Turkish and Iraqi intelligence, officials from the Iraqi Kurdistan regional government, and members of the pro-Kurdish DEM Party (Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party), which played a crucial role in facilitating this decision, also attended.
Turkish representatives called the surrender of arms an “irreversible turning point” in the peace process. The next steps should include the legal reintegration of PKK members into Turkish society and other initiatives to heal communities and promote reconciliation.
The PKK, the DEM Party, and Öcalan, for their part, have urged Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan’s government to respond to Kurdish demands for greater rights, especially in southeastern Turkey, a stronghold of the insurgency. Öcalan also suggested that the Turkish parliament establish a commission to oversee disarmament and the broader peace process, a request for which Ankara has already taken initial steps.
The PKK’s decision to lay down arms marks the “completion of its historic mission,” having “broken the policy of denial and annihilation of our people and brought the Kurdish issue to a point where a solution can be achieved through democratic politics.”
Born in 1948 into a peasant family, Öcalan received his political education in Ankara, founding the PKK in 1978. Under his leadership, the group launched the separatist rebellion for an independent Kurdistan in 1984. The objective was also the recognition of political and cultural rights for Kurds within Turkey, including the ability to freely use the Kurdish language and have greater political representation. The rebellion was violent, causing over 40,000 deaths between 1984 and 2024, with tactics that included suicide bombings, attacks on Turkish diplomatic offices in Europe, and kidnapping of tourists. Despite his authoritarianism, his charisma and commitment to Kurdish rights earned him the affection and respect of many, who called him “Apo” (Uncle).
After 40 years of armed struggle, a new perspective for Kurdistan is now emerging: “I do not believe in weapons, but in the power of politics and social peace, and I invite you to put this principle into practice.”
