Turkish sources have revealed the creation of a mechanism to disarm the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), involving coordination among Ankara, Baghdad, Erbil and Sulaimaniyah, as part of preparations to implement the Law on Strengthening National Solidarity and Social Integration, passed by Türkiye’s parliament on Aug. 10.
The mechanism, coordinated by Türkiye’s National Intelligence Organization (MIT), is intended to complete the PKK’s disarmament, a prerequisite for implementing the legislation, known as the “framework law” for the “Peace and Democratic Society Process,” or what the state calls the “Terror-Free Türkiye” process.
The initiative is based on the PKK’s dissolution and disarmament, followed by the suspension of trials and prosecutions of its members - excluding its leadership - and allowing them to return and reintegrate into Turkish society.
Four-way mechanism
The pro-government Hurriyet newspaper reported Monday that PKK members would surrender their weapons to authorities in Erbil or Sulaimaniyah, or to Iraq’s central government in Baghdad. The weapons would be inventoried, while MIT would retain the relevant records.
The evacuation of PKK camps, hideouts and shelters will also be monitored, beginning in the Haftanin and Gara areas of northern Iraq.
Once all sites have been evacuated and the group’s cadres fully disbanded, MIT will submit a report to Türkiye’s National Security Council, which will then issue a decision declaring the PKK’s presence ended.
Once it is confirmed that the group has ceased all illegal activities - not only in Iraq and Syria but also in Europe - its members will be allowed to return.
The exception will be about 230 senior figures based in the Qandil Mountains, who are expected to remain in a secure area in Sulaimaniyah.
The cases of PKK members imprisoned in Türkiye will also begin to be reviewed.
MIT chief Ibrahim Kalin visited Iraq in July, holding meetings in Baghdad, Erbil, Sulaimaniyah and Kirkuk focused on security and intelligence cooperation, regional stability and the PKK’s dissolution and disarmament.
Return and reintegration
Between 7,000 and 8,000 PKK members, mostly from Iraq and Syria, are expected to return after the integration of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) into Syrian state institutions is completed. Some of the roughly 80,000 PKK sympathizers in Europe are also expected to be allowed to return.
Hurriyet columnist Nedim Sener wrote that Sinjar and Makhmur would be the next stage. Some 2,200 PKK members in Sinjar are expected to join the Iraqi army, while about 8,000 civilians at the Makhmur camp in northern Iraq - mainly Turkish families displaced there - are expected to return to Türkiye.
Tulay Hatimogullari, co-chair of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), said the “Peace and Democratic Society Process,” which has been under way for two years, had reached a “historic turning point.”
The process formally began when imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan called on the group to dissolve itself, lay down its arms and pursue politics through democratic and legal channels.
Speaking at a party gathering in the western city of Izmir, Hatimogullari described the framework law as the first legislation of its kind in a century to benefit the Kurdish people.
She said it could lead to the release of about 4,000 political prisoners and the return of exiled politicians.
PKK death toll
The PKK has, for the first time, disclosed the total number of its militants killed during its armed campaign.
Murat Karayilan, regarded as the PKK’s de facto commander in the Qandil Mountains, put the figure at about 27,000, including those killed in operations against Türkiye, clashes in Sinjar and Turkish military operations in northern Syria.
Responding to criticism that the identities of those killed had not yet been disclosed, Karayilan acknowledged shortcomings and said the organization was also critical of itself, expressing hope that the families would understand.
Some Turkish estimates put the overall death toll from the decades-long conflict at more than 40,000 on both sides. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan recently said Türkiye had also incurred losses of $2.3 trillion in combating PKK activities.
