Turkey says it is closely monitoring any attempts to undermine its peace initiative with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), a senior official has said, following the militant Kurdish group’s announcement on Monday that it is dissolving and ending its decades-long armed conflict with the Turkish state.
The PKK, which is designated a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the EU and the US, made the announcement after its imprisoned leader called for the group to formally disband and disarm.
The move could bring an end to one of the region’s longest-running insurgencies.
In making the call, PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan, who has been jailed since 1999, stressed the need for securing Kurdish rights through negotiation rather than armed struggle.
Previous peace efforts with the group have failed, most recently in 2015. Given those past failures, a close aide to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan expressed determination to uphold the current initiative and prevent any disruptions.
“We are closely following attempts to sabotage the process and we will not allow anyone to test our state’s determination in this regard,” Fahrettin Altun, the head of the Turkish presidential communications office said.
The PKK initially launched an armed struggle in the 1980s with the goal of establishing an independent Kurdish state.
Over time, the group moderated its objectives towards more autonomy and greater Kurdish rights within Turkey.
The conflict, which has spilled into neighbouring Iraq and Syria, has claimed tens of thousands of lives since it began.
The latest peace effort, which the government labelled “Terror-Free Turkey”, was launched in October after a key ally of President Erdoğan suggested that Öcalan could be granted parole were the PKK to renounce violence and disband.
Officials have not disclosed details about the process that will follow the PKK’s decision.
Media close to the government have reported that the PKK’s disarmament process is expected to take three to four months, with weapons being collected at designated locations in northern Iraq under official supervision.
PKK disarmament process
According to the Hürriyet daily newspaper, the disarmament could be overseen jointly by Turkey and the Kurdistan Regional Government in Iraq or through a commission involving Turkey, the US, the EU and Iraq.
The newspaper also suggested that high-ranking PKK members may be relocated to third countries, while lower-ranking militants without arrest warrants could return to Turkey once a legal framework is established to facilitate their reintegration.
Turkish officials have not responded to requests for comment on the report.
Analysts also expect Öcalan to see improved prison conditions following the PKK’s disbandment.
Erdoğan said on Monday that the PKK’s declaration should apply to all affiliated groups, including Kurdish militant organisations in Syria.
Kurdish fighters in Syria have ties to the PKK and have been involved in intense fighting with Turkish-backed forces there.
The leader of the US-backed Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) previously said Öcalan’s call for a dissolution does not apply to his group in Syria.
The group then reached an agreement with the central government in Damascus for a nationwide ceasefire and its merger into the Syrian army.
Despite the deal, Kurdish officials in Syria later declared their desire for a federal state, sparking tensions with the new Syrian government.
Some believe the main aim of the reconciliation effort is for Erdoğan’s government to garner Kurdish support for a new constitution that would allow him to remain in power beyond 2028, when his presidential term ends.
