Kurdish militants declare ceasefire in 40-year conflict

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Kurdish militants declare ceasefire in 40-year conflict

richard

01/03/2025

Kurdish militants declare ceasefire in 40-year conflict

Kurdish militants have declared a ceasefire in their 40-year conflict with Turkey, two days after their imprisoned leader called for the group to disarm.

The statement from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) was published on Saturday by the Firat News Agency, a media outlet which is close to the group.

Referring to its leader Abdullah Ocalan, who has been in prison for almost three decades, the group said: “We declare a ceasefire effective today to pave the way for the implementation of Leader Apo’s call for peace and democratic society.

“None of our forces will take armed action unless attacked.”

While some have welcomed the move, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned of dire consequences if militants fail to keep their promises.

Mr Erdogan was speaking on Saturday at a fast-breaking event with martyr families in Istanbul on the first day of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

He vowed that “if needed”, Turkish anti-terrorist forces will “keep up our operations – which are still continuing – leaving no stone standing and leaving no heads on shoulders, until every last terrorist is eliminated”.

Ocalan had previously called for the PKK to lay down its arms. The 75-year-old continues to have significant influence over the PKK, despite having been imprisoned in 1999 after he was convicted of treason.

The conflict, which began in 1984, has seen the PKK wage an insurgency in the hope of carving out a homeland for the Kurds in an area straddling the borders of southeastern Turkey, northern Syria and Iraq, and part of Iran.

Tens of thousands of people have died in the conflict. In October last year, five people died in a terror attack on a defence company headquarters, which the Turkish government blamed on the PKK.

The group is proscribed as a terror organisation by Western nations, including the US and UK, as well as the European Union.

The ceasefire is the first sign of an end to the conflict since peace talks between the PKK and Ankara broke down in the summer of 2015.

Consequences of ceasefire could be far-reaching

After more than four decades of armed struggle in Turkey, the decision by the PKK to disarm and call a ceasefire is a highly significant moment – if it can be achieved.

The fighting in the country’s southeast has claimed more than 40,000 lives over the years and spread into Iraq, Syria and Iran.

The PKK, which stands for Kurdistan Workers’ Party, has fought for an independent state in a region heavily populated by Kurds.

The group is demanding the release of Abdullah Ocalan, its leader who has been imprisoned by Turkey since 1999. Ocalan founded the group back in 1978 and it’s classified as a terrorist organisation by many countries including the US and EU.

Ocalan was captured in Kenya in 1999 and jailed on an island south of Istanbul, often the only inmate. There have long been rumours the CIA was involved in his arrest.

Some doubt whether the Turkish government wants a ceasefire, instead possibly preferring to continue fighting Kurdish factions on its borders and inside Syria.

That said, this could also be an opportunity for Turkey’s long-serving President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to win over the support of Kurdish political parties as he looks to change the country’s constitution and extend his time in power.

It’s also not the first time Ocalan has called supporters to lay down arms – on a previous occasion in 2015 a truce lasted only a matter of months before violence flared again.

It’s not clear what the PKK will get out of the truce and whether its allies in Syria will also follow the call to lay down arms. Israel, which sees the Syrian Kurds as an ally against Turkey, won’t welcome this move, but Washington is unlikely to oppose it.

The consequences, if this ceasefire holds, could be far-reaching.

This latest peace bid was initiated in October by Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan‘s coalition partner, Devlet Bahceli and could see Ocalan granted parole – if the PKK renounce violence and disbands.

In its statement, the PKK said Ocalan’s statement indicated that a “new historical process has begun in Kurdistan and the Middle East”.

Kurdistan refers to the parts of Turkey, Iraq, Syria and Iran inhabited by Kurds.

The group also called for Ocalan to be released from Imrali prison, in the Marmara Sea, to “personally direct and execute” a party congress.

Consequences of ceasefire could be far-reaching

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