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The Kurdistan Workers' Party has announced its self-dissolution. What you need to know

Kurdistan Workers' Party announces self-dissolution
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The Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), recognized as a terrorist organization in Turkey, has announced its dissolution. Since the mid-1980s, she has been waging an armed struggle with the Turkish authorities for recognition of the rights of the Kurdish minority. In March, the PKK announced that it would lay down its arms and stop fighting. What the PKK fought for and how these events will affect the situation in the Middle East — in the Izvestia article.

What is the PKK?

• The Kurdistan Workers' Party was formed in 1978 to create a sovereign Kurdish state in Turkey, but then it narrowed its demands to the formation of autonomy. Since the mid-1980s, the PKK has waged a guerrilla struggle against the Turkish authorities, with the support of Syria and the Kurds of Iraq. Turkey considers the PKK as a terrorist organization, and it has the same status in the United States, the European Union, and a number of other countries.

• In 1999, a turning point occurred in the history of the PKK. Turkish special services have captured party leader Abdullah Ocalan in Kenya, who was previously expelled from Syria under pressure from Ankara. He was taken to a prison on Imrali Island in the Marmara Sea and sentenced to death, commuted to life imprisonment, which he is still serving.

• Since the early 2000s, PKK activity has subsided, but after a few years, the armed struggle has intensified again. In response, Turkey regularly conducted military operations against the Kurdish guerrillas, not only on its territory, but also in Syria and Iraq. The parties to the conflict periodically agreed on a truce, but soon returned to armed confrontation.

On February 27, 2025, Ocalan called on the PKK to lay down its arms and stop the armed struggle, which the party leadership announced two days later. Ocalan also demanded to hold a congress and make a decision on the liquidation of the party, which happened in early May. The PKK said in a statement following the congress that the party had fulfilled its historic mission and was dissolving its organizational structure.

Who are the Kurds?

• The Kurds are considered the largest nation in the world that does not have its own official statehood. Their total number exceeds 40 million people. Historically, they live on the territory located at the junction of Turkey, Iraq, Iran and Syria. Kurds belong to the Iranian peoples and speak a Kurdish language close to Farsi. Most of them are Sunni Muslims, but some minorities practice a wide variety of religions, including Judaism and Christianity.

• In each of the four countries where the Kurds are settled, the situation with them is different. In Iran, Kurds live in several western provinces, one of which is called Kurdistan. Since 2016, the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan has been waging an armed struggle against the authorities, demanding either independence or broad autonomy. In Iraq, the Kurds have their own autonomous republic, which de facto operates independently from Baghdad. Western Kurdistan in Syria is actually the independent republic of Rojava.

• In Turkey, Kurds inhabit several southeastern provinces, which are the most economically backward in the country. They are the second largest people and make up a quarter of the total population of Turkey, but they do not have their own full-fledged autonomy. At the same time, the Turkish parliament includes several deputies who are ethnic Kurds.

How will the PKK's dissolution affect the Middle East

• The Kurdish issue is one of the most difficult in Middle Eastern politics. It has led to years of bloody clashes in all four predominantly Kurdish countries. Analysts note that the dissolution of the PKK has not yet put an end to the Kurdish conflict. It remains too complex and long-standing, involving too many participants to resolve at once.

• At the moment, it can be argued that the dissolution of the PKK will lead to a weakening of the Kurds in Syria and Iraq, where independent Kurdish groups operate. In both countries, Turkey is also fighting against the Kurdish formations and will now be able to use more forces against them, releasing them from the internal territory. This can both play into the hands of the central authorities in Damascus and Baghdad, and destabilize the situation, since all sides already recognize the independence of the Kurdish entities to some extent.

• The self-dissolution of the PKK will also hit US positions in the Middle East, even though the organization has been designated a terrorist organization by them. For a long time, they have been using the Kurds as a bargaining chip in their geopolitical interests, playing on their desire for independence and promoting the creation of a unified Kurdistan. This gave the United States a reason to put pressure on all parties involved in the conflict with the Kurds. Although the Kurds will remain a significant factor in the Middle East, they will no longer be able to maintain a pro-American orientation in the future.

What does this mean for Turkey

• For Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the dissolution of the PKK is an absolute political victory. If disarmament really happens and a new stage of escalation does not begin, Erdogan will be able to take credit for solving the most difficult internal issue that has divided Turkish society for decades. This is especially important for him, given that the country has recently experienced a series of protests (we discussed them in more detail here), which weakened the president's position.

• The Kurdish issue has not yet been definitively resolved. Kurds continue to be a significant minority in Turkey, despite the fact that their political rights are not protected in any way. Although what happened to the PKK is a great success for Erdogan, he is simultaneously faced with the challenge of how to reconcile with the Kurds after the open phase of the military conflict and build further relations with them.

• If Erdogan manages to gain the Kurds' favor, he will gain enough support not only to consolidate his power, but also to raise the issue of extending his powers. According to the constitution, he will be able to hold the post of president until 2028, but with sufficient support from the titular and Kurdish populations, he will be able to initiate amendments that will extend his term in power.

When writing the material, Izvestia talked and took into account the opinions of:

  • Stanislav Tarasov, a political scientist and expert on the problems of the Middle East and the Caucasus;
  • political scientist Vladimir Shapovalov.

Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»

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