A group of PKK fighters is set to disarm in a ceremony in the Kurdistan Region’s Sulaimani province at the beginning of July, two well-informed sources told Rudaw on Monday. The process will launch the practical steps of implementing the PKK’s decision to dissolve and end its armed struggle against Turkey.
“It is a very important role. During the disarmament process in Sulaimani and Erbil, they [Kurdistan Region officials] provide very good assistance,” Abdurrahim Firat, AKP lawmaker for Erzurum, told Rudaw.
“Turkey and the Kurdistan Region have always respected each other’s laws and worked together,” he added, thanking Kurdish officials. “Our demand is that the peace process ends well and everyone in Turkey achieves their rights.”
Firat claimed that if a poll were to be held, 90 percent of the Turkish people would support the peace process.
Before the anticipated disarmament ceremony - which includes between 20 to 30 fighters - jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan is expected to publish a new message about the peace process, according to the well-informed sources.
The PKK announced its dissolution and an end to its four-decade armed struggle on May 12, responding to a call from Ocalan to end the conflict that has claimed around 40,000 lives and pursue a political and democratic path.
Ankara has welcomed the steps but wants the decision to materialize. The PKK expects democratic steps from Ankara.
On Saturday, Turkey’s pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) told Rudaw that it will soon submit a proposal to the parliament speaker for the formation of a commission of 40 to 50 people to oversee the peace process with the PKK.
DEM Party is the main mediator of the talks, and its delegations have made several visits to Ocalan and relayed his messages.
According to Firat, the Turkish constitution needs to be amended to ensure that the disarmed PKK fighters and commanders will not be imprisoned.
“Parliament will form that 30 to 40-member commission in the near future to change whatever laws need to be changed for the purpose of advancing the peace process,” Firat asserted.
“Now in Turkey, there is work on changing the constitution by AKP under the leadership of [Turkey’s Vice President] Cevdet Yilmaz. An 11-member commission has been formed, and the commission has begun its constitutional work,” he said.
Analysts argue that a motivation for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the renewed effort for peace may be to garner Kurdish backing for a new constitution that could pave the way for him to remain in power. At the end of May, Erdogan announced that he had tasked a group of legal experts with making preparations for a new charter.
Founded in 1978, the PKK initially sought an independent Kurdish state but later shifted its focus toward achieving broader political and cultural rights for Kurds in Turkey.
The group has been labeled as a terrorist organization by Turkey and its allies.
Hevidar Zana contributed to this report.
