PKK disarmament rewrites Kurdish future

Shafaq News – Al-Sulaymaniyah

The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) has taken a historic step in ending its decades-long armed conflict with the Turkish state, laying down arms in a ceremony held on July 11 in Al-Sulaymaniyah, within Iraq’s Kurdistan Region.

According to a report by The Conversation, this public transition from militancy to politics could redefine Kurdish aspirations, offering a new model of political engagement for one of the world’s largest stateless populations. The PKK disarmament ceremony also could mark a new era for the Kurds, one of the largest stateless groups in the world with over 30 million people living across Turkiye, Iraq, Iran and Syria.

In a symbolic gesture of reconciliation, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan publicly acknowledged past state abuses against the Kurds, including forced displacement and extrajudicial violence. Analysts say the Kurdish political movement is unlikely to fade; instead, it may become more active in democratic arenas across the region.

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