Türkiye is at the threshold for a solution to its chronic Kurdish problem

The results of the PKK Congress to lay down arms and dissolve could mean a solution to Türkiye’s chronic Kurdish problem. This photo shows Pervin Buldan (L), senior Kurdish politician Ahmet Türk, and late Sırrı Süreyya Önder (R) as they go to their first meeting with MHP leader Devlet Bahçeli in the Turkish Parliament.

On May 9, Ayşegül Doğan, the spokesperson of the Kurdish-problem-focused DEM Party, was telling reporters that it was only a matter of time before the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) could announce its Congress on laying down arms and dissolving itself. Some half an hour later, the PKK announced that they had convened the Congress on May 5-7. The decisions of the Congress, which was convened upon the request of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli and the call of the PKK’s founding leader Abdullah Öcalan, were to be announced later.
According to backstage claims in Ankara, the text of the decision had already been almost ready for some time, and the final fine-tuning was underway. Pervin Buldan, one of the main interlocutors between Öcalan, the government, and the Kurdish organizations outside Türkiye, said that there “may have been a communication in technical terms” between İmralı island prison, where Öcalan is kept, and the PKK headquarters in Qandil Mountains of Iraq, which confirms the “fine-tuning” claims.
The reason given for the delay is that Sırrı Süreyya Önder had a heart attack ten days ago and passed away on May 3.
The PKK convened the day after Önder was laid to ground on May 4. Önder was the other main interlocutor in Ankara’s initiative to find a political solution to the Kurdish problem by “peacefully” disarming it, as Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan put it.
But according to a reliable source who wanted to remain anonymous, the reason for the delay of the PKK Congress was that Önder’s death was an ostensible reason; the real reason was in the shadows of higher secrecy.

Quiet disintegration of the PKK?

According to the same source, the main reason for the delay is to finalize what will happen to the PKK’s top and upper-middle level leaders in Qandil and elsewhere (from Syria to Europe) if the PKK announces its decision to dissolve and lay down arms. Cemil Bayık, the current acting leader of the PKK, has said that they cannot accept being arrested and imprisoned upon their return to Türkiye since most of them are wanted by the law enforcement agencies, some of them internationally.
With Turkish approval, senior PKK members are looking for countries where they can seek political asylum.
The PKK members prefer EU countries. European countries are where the PKK/KCK has been organized for decades. But of course, the countries where PKK leaders want to go must also accept this.
As Yaşar Güler, the Minister of National Defense, said on April 23, they would tell the PKK where to leave their arms. The Ministry’s imposition of a no-entry “Special security zone” between April 27 and May 11, in the mountainous areas near the Turkish-Iraqi border region, comes to mind.
It is known that during Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammad Shiya al-Sudani’s talks with Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan in Ankara on May 8, the fight against terrorism was also discussed.
The issue also has Syrian and US dimensions. Ankara wants the US to stop supporting the PKK-affiliated SDF there, saying that Turkish security forces could assist the Syrian government in the fight against ISIS much more effectively.
It is not an easy process for a half-century-old armed organization like the PKK to quietly decide to disband and implement it.

DEM: Let’s build peace

The DEM Party praised the PKK’s dissolution and disarmement congress as a historical threshold by the DEM Party. In its 8-point statement, the party’s Central Executive Committee said, “all democratic political institutions, especially the Turkish Grand National Assembly, must take responsibility for the solution of the Kurdish issue and the real democratization of Türkiye”.
The statement demanded that “no more young people should fall to the ground, neither in the cities nor in the mountains” and thanked Öcalan for “assuming historical responsibility”, Bahçeli for “supporting the will for a solution”, Erdoğan for “standing by this will” and main opposition leader Özel for “approaching the process positively”.
“We conclude this declaration of will by once again commemorating our dear comrade Sırrı Süreyya Önder, who devoted his life to peace and the brotherhood of peoples and whose heart was always on the side of the oppressed,” DEM Party said.

The aftermath

If the PKK has decided to dissolve and lay down arms at its congress, and it seems to have done so, this announcement would mean the opening of a new page in recent Turkish history. Buldan’s forecast of a “positive outcome by the end of June” is still valid.
The closure of the bloody chapter that has cost Turkey tens of thousands of lives, hundreds of billions in economic losses, and incalculable losses of political leverage for almost half a century will change the political balance not only in Turkey but also in the Middle East.
There will be countries and parties that want to block this solution, as well as those that want to prevent it from working.
Such an announcement would also bring about legal and constitutional changes in the Turkish Parliament, including changes to the Constitution, including the possibility of President Erdoğan being able to run for re-election, a demand of the AK Party and the MHP.
A solution to the Kurdish problem without further bloodshed would be a relief for Türkiye. The country is at the threshold of this giant step towards a solution to the Kurdish problem through the disarmament of the PKK. Time will tell if Türkiye can pass through that door, and it is necessary to pass through the door to a more democratic Turkey, not a more authoritarian one. Time will tell.