JamzNG Latest News, Gist, Entertainment in Nigeria
Fighters from the Kurdish Workers’ Party (PKK) have burned their weapons at the entrance of the cave as part of the peace process to end the rebellion for decades in Türkiye.
The symbolic ceremony in North Iraq is a significant step in the PKK weapon that will be completed in September.
It happened after PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan, who had been jailed on an island near Istanbul since 1999, urged his group in February to hold a congress and Disband and disarm formally.
Pic: Reuters
Mr Ocalan updated his call on a video broadcast on Wednesday, saying: “I believe in political power and social peace, not weapons.”
Turkish nationalist politician Devlet Bahceli, the country’s presidential ally Recep Tayyip Erdogan, surprised everyone in October when he suggested that in parliament that Ocalan could be given a parole if he left violence and dissolve PKK.
The separatist group launched its rebellion in the southeast Türkiye In 1984 with the initial aim of creating an independent Kurdish state.
The four -decade conflict has killed more than 40,000 people, imposing enormous economic burdens and triggers social tension.
Records from the lear ceremony showed 30 PKK fighters, half of them women, queuing to place AK-47 assault rifles, bandolier, and other weapons to large gray cauldrons. The fire then swallowed a weapon pointing into the air.
Pic: Reuters
The fighters, in the cream military fatigue, were flanked by four commanders including senior PKK Bese Hozat figures, who read a statement in Turkish stating the group’s decision to disarm weapons.
“We voluntarily destroy our weapons, in front of you, as a step of good intentions and determination,” he said, before other commanders read the same statement in Kurds.
It is unclear when PKK will put further weapons.
The ceremony was held at the entrance of the Jasana Cave in Dukan City, more than 30 miles northwest of Sulaymaniyah in the Kurdistan semi -Ekor region in the north of Iraq.
It was attended by Turkish and Iraqi intelligence figures, Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government officials, and senior members of the Turkish DEM Pro -Kurki Party -who also played an important role in facilitating the decision of the PKK weapons.
Read more:
PKK announced that he was dissolving
Syria signed a breakthrough in dealing with troops led by Kurds
The Turkish military has carried out routine attacks at the PKK Base in North Iraq as part of its efforts to end the rebellion.
However, this is a new initiative that can open the way for peace.
A senior Turkish official said the disarmament ceremony marked “a turning point that could not be changed” in the peace process, while other government sources said the next steps would include the legal reintegration of PKK members into communities in Turkey and efforts to heal the community and promote reconciliation.
Pic: Reuters
PKK, DEM and Ocalan all have asked the Government of President Erdogan to overcome the demands of Kurds for more rights in the regions where Kurds formed the majority, especially Southeast Turkey where the rebellion was concentrated.
The Turkish state historically limits the use of Kurdish and cultural expressions, pursuing policies aimed at assimilating Kurds into Turkish’s sole identity, according to the Thinktank Foreign Relations Board.
Listen to the world with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday
In a rare online video published on Wednesday, Mr. Ocalan – whose large image is displayed at a weapons ceremony – urged the Turkish parliament to form a commission to oversee the launching of weapons and manage a broader peace process.
Türkiye has taken steps towards the formation of a commission, while DEM and Ocalan said that certain legal guarantees and mechanisms are needed to facilitate the PKK transition to democratic politics.
Omer Celik, a spokesman for the party Ak Erdogan, said that the ceremony marked the first step towards the launching of the weapon and “Terror -Free Turkey”, adding this to be resolved “in a short time”.
President Erdogan said the launching of weapons would allow Türkiye’s rebuilding in the southeast.
Türkiye has spent nearly $ 1.8Trn over the last five decades of fighting terrorism, said Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek.
