Senior PKK figure says Turkey is derailing peace efforts

SULAIMANI,— A senior figure in the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) on Wednesday claimed certain factions within the Turkish government are working to derail a disarmament initiative that had aimed to formally end the group’s decades-long armed struggle.

Mustafa Karasu, a founding member and senior leader of the PKK, told a Kurdish-affiliated broadcaster that “elements within the core of the state” are attempting to disrupt the peace process.

The PKK announced in May that it would end its armed campaign and was expected to hold public events to symbolically destroy its weapons. However, Karasu indicated that no progress had been made on the government’s side.

“We are ready to move forward,” he said. “But the government has yet to take the necessary actions.”

Karasu pointed to continued restrictions on Abdullah Ocalan, the PKK’s imprisoned founder, as a key barrier. Ocalan, held on Imrali Island since 1999, called for the disarmament earlier this year.

Despite some reported visits by intermediaries, Karasu said the leader remains largely isolated.

“The isolation has persisted for 26 years,” Karasu said, adding that no official date had been set for disarmament ceremonies.

The peace effort, according to Karasu, remains in a fragile state.

Michael Rubin, a former Pentagon official whose major research areas are the Middle East, Turkey, Iran and diplomacy, wrote in a June article that if Turkey continues its crackdown and fails to negotiate, a civil war could erupt.

He warned this might lead to violence in major Turkish cities, as some Kurds may believe President Erdogan is not seeking peace, but their destruction.

The PKK began its armed struggle in 1984, aiming for greater autonomy for Kurds in Turkish Kurdistan (Bakur Kurdistan).

The Turkish government continues to reject constitutional recognition of the Kurdish minority, which makes up nearly 30% of Turkey’s population of 85 million. The decades-long conflict has reportedly claimed the lives of more than 40,000 Turkish soldiers and Kurdish fighters.

Many Kurds in Turkey and around the world openly support the PKK and its jailed founder, Abdullah Ocalan.

Observers say Ocalan holds deep symbolic meaning for much of the Kurdish population, both inside and outside Turkey.

According to analysts, Ocalan is seen as a key figure in the Kurdish movement for cultural rights and democratic freedoms. Over time, he has become a powerful symbol of the broader Kurdish struggle.

(With files from AFP | Agencies)