PKK ends 40-year war against Turkey, vows to pursue Kurdish rights
The disarmament brings an end to one of the Middle East’s longest-running insurgencies, with the PKK vowing to pursue its goals through political means.
The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) announced on Monday that it had ended its more than four-decade-long armed campaign against the Turkish state, marking the beginning of a new era in the Kurds’ long-running struggle for political and cultural rights.
“The PKK has fulfilled its historical mission" and brought "the Kurdish issue to a point where it can be resolved through democratic politics," the militant group said in a statement. “Thereby, the activities conducted under the name of the PKK were concluded.”
The announcement follows the convening of a congress by the group from May 7-9 in response to a call from their imprisoned leader, Abdullah Ocalan, on Feb. 27, who said their war had become obsolete.
Monday’s announcement is the culmination of more than a year of secret talks between the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Ocalan, aimed at getting the militants to lay down their arms and establish a “terror-free Turkey.”
