ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) on Friday began its historic disarmament with a ceremony in Jasana Cave, a location deeply symbolic of Kurdish resistance and identity.
Hakim Abdulkarim, a member of the Kurdistan National Congress (KNC or KNK) umbrella group that includes several Kurdish organizations including the PKK, confirmed to Rudaw ahead of the ceremony that the event was taking place in Jasana Cave, located approximately 50 kilometers west of Sulaimani city.
“We are at the ceremony location, and it will be held in Jasana Cave in Surdash sub-district in Sulaimani province,” Abdulkarim said.
In the ceremony, a group of PKK fighters will lay down their arms, taking a pivotal step towards ending more than four decades of conflict. The weapons are slated for destruction.
Jasana Cave has played a significant role in Kurdish history.
In 1923, during the revolution led by Sheikh Mahmoud Hafeed, Jasana Cave served as his headquarters and a refuge after the British army bombed Sulaimani. Hafeed is often referred to as the King of Kurdistan. It was within this cave that he established a printing press and published the first issue of "Bangi Haq" (Call for Truth) newspaper on March 28, 1923, considered the first Kurdish revolutionary newspaper and a crucial organ of the liberation movement.
Decades later, during the Ba'ath regime, Jasana Cave regained its importance as a shelter and stronghold for Peshmerga forces in their resistance efforts in the Surdash, Dukan, and Piramagrun mountain chains.
Due to its role in key periods of Kurdish struggle for self-determination and its connection to significant figures like Sheikh Mahmoud Hafeed, Jasana Cave has become a potent symbol of Kurdish resistance.
The PKK, founded in 1978 to fight for Kurdish independence, later shifted its focus to securing political and cultural rights for Kurds in Turkey. It is designated a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States, and the European Union.
In February, jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan urged the group to abandon its armed struggle and pursue a political solution. The PKK declared a ceasefire on March 1 and in May it announced its dissolution and end to its armed struggle.
The ceremonial disarmament on Friday is considered a gesture of good faith as part of an ongoing peace process between the PKK and the Turkish state.
