Turkey detains 282 people over suspected PKK links

DIYARBAKIR-AMED,—Turkish police have arrested 282 people in a nationwide operation targeting individuals suspected of having links to the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced on Tuesday.

The arrests come amid renewed efforts to address the ongoing conflict between the Turkish state and Kurdish militants.

Peace talks, which have been stalled for nearly a decade, were revived in October after the nationalist Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) offered a proposal to jailed Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan.

The police raids, which began five days ago, were carried out in 51 cities, including major metropolitan areas such as Istanbul, Ankara, and Diyarbakir (Amed), the largest Kurdish city in Turkish Kurdistan (Bakur). Yerlikaya confirmed the operation through a post on social media platform X.

On Tuesday, Turkish authorities issued arrest warrants for 60 individuals, including prominent figures from the pro-Kurdish party, the Democratic Party of the Peoples (DEM), as well as several left-wing activists accused of having connections to what Turkey calls “terrorism,” according to a statement from the Istanbul prosecutor’s office. As of today, 52 individuals have been detained.

In response, the DEM condemned the operation, posting on X that “Turkey woke up today with another operation” targeting its members. The party added, “It’s clear that the prospect of a solution and peace is beginning to disturb some people.”

Meanwhile, the MHP, a staunch ally of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has called on Ocalan to renounce the armed struggle in exchange for the possibility of early release from his solitary confinement on Imrali Island, where he has been serving a life sentence since 1999.

The call for Ocalan’s potential release has reignited hope for an end to the conflict, which has claimed tens of thousands of lives.

The PKK began its armed struggle in 1984, demanding greater autonomy for the Kurdish minority in Turkey’s Kurdistan region. The group’s violent campaign has resulted in the deaths of more than 40,000 people, including Turkish soldiers and Kurdish guerrillas.

The PKK primarily targets Turkish military and security forces while avoiding civilian casualties, a strategy that has led some international organizations to challenge the PKK’s classification as a terrorist group.

The Kurdish population in Turkey is estimated at over 23 million, or more than a quarter of the country’s total population. Despite this, the Turkish state has long denied the constitutional recognition of Kurds as a distinct ethnic group.

(With files from AFP | Agencies)