The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) held a symbolic disarmament ceremony today in the Sulaymaniyah district of the semi-autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq, marking what is expected to be the end of its 40-year armed conflict against Turkey.
From Turkey, a group of around 140 people organized by the Peoples' Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party, including politicians, intellectuals, human rights advocates, and journalists, departed from Diyarbakır yesterday evening.
The group arrived in Erbil after midnight and were greeted by Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) officials.
Keskin Bayındır, co-chair of the Democratic Regions Party (DBP), delivered a statement for the press on behalf of the group. "Tomorrow, we will witness a historic step that will open the door to peace across the world. From this day forward, the process will reach a point from which no one can turn back," he said.
"Tomorrow’s ceremony will not mark the final outcome of a solution to the Kurdish question alone. It will also signal the beginning of a dignified peace and a broader resolution process for the Kurdish issue and the peoples of the region."
Security measures
From Erbil, the group traveled to Sulaymaniyah this morning, where the ceremony is scheduled to take place. The exact location of the event has not been disclosed for security reasons.
Due to the narrow mountain roads inaccessible to buses, attendees were transported in smaller vehicles arranged by the KRG. At several checkpoints set up by the Peshmerga forces, participants underwent personal searches and vehicle inspections. No electronic or metal items will be allowed into the ceremony site.
Of the 140 people arriving from Turkey, a smaller group of 30 to 35 individuals, preselected in advance, will be permitted to witness the ceremony directly. These include the DEM co-leaders, members of the İmralı delegation which has held direct talks with PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan, representatives of the Peace Mothers initiative.
DEM Party Co-Chair Tuncer Bakırhan said that representatives from the Turkish state will be present. However, he stated that they have yet to receive information from the KRG regarding whether any Turkish government officials will attend.
The event will not be broadcast live for security reasons. Senior PKK leaders are also expected to attend the ceremony.
Intelligence units from both Turkey and the KRG are overseeing the event’s security arrangements.
While the PKK has not yet released specific details about the ceremony, it is expected to include the symbolic burning of a small number of weapons. The entire event is anticipated to last no longer than an hour. Details regarding the formal handover of weapons and serial numbers are also expected to be clarified during the ceremony.
Updates to this story:
Convoy en route
11:25 am (All times GMT+3) About 150 people are currently traveling in a convoy of 30 vehicles. It appears that two of the minibuses may be reserved for journalists. The rest carry a diverse group, including politicians, civil society representatives, human rights advocates, and intellectuals.
For now, participants still have their mobile phones, but all technological equipment is expected to be handed over before proceeding to the symbolic disarmament site where the ceremony will take place.
Senior PKK executives Besê Hozat and Mustafa Karasu are also expected to attend the ceremony although not officially confirmed.
It is anticipated that footage from the ceremony will be released in the afternoon. Visuals are expected to be distributed to the press after the group returns from the ceremony site.
'We voluntarily destroy our weapons'
12:05 pm A group of PKK numbers identifying as Group for Peace and Democratic Society released a written statement confirming lying down arms. "In order to ensure the practical success of the 'Peace and Democratic Society' process, to wage our struggle with methods of legal and democratic politics, we voluntarily destroy our weapons as a step of goodwill and determination," they said.
Full text: PKK statement during disarmament ceremony
12.18 pm Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli, who initiated the current process in October, issued a written statement welcoming the PKK’s disarmament move.
"On one side, our country; on the other, the neighboring regions are gradually transitioning into a new and hopeful era. Turkey stands at the threshold of ridding itself of the scourge of separatist terrorism, a plague hardened by nearly half a century of violence and brutality,” Bahçeli said.
12.55 pm First photos from the ceremony have emerged.
(AB/VK)
