Turkey-PKK peace requires mutual transformation: former fighter

Turkey-PKK peace requires mutual transformation, says former female fighter — Yuksel Genc former PKK fighter. She became a journalist and researcher at the Sosyo Politik think tank, advocating for Kurdish rights through writing, April 2025. Photo: Screengrab/video/ANF Firat News Agency

DIYARBAKIR (Amed),— Yuksel Genc, a former fighter with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), expressed concern this week over what she described as a lack of concrete steps from Ankara following the group’s declaration to end its decades-long armed insurgency.

Speaking to AFP in a public square in Diyarbakir, the largest Kurdish city in Turkish Kurdistan (Bakur), the southeastern Turkey’s Kurdish-majority region, Genc said that while the PKK has an intent to disarm, there is widespread uncertainty about whether the Turkish state will match that gesture with political or legal reforms.

“The guerrillas have made a clear decision,” she said. “But they still feel the government does not trust them, and they don’t trust the state in return.”

The PKK issued a formal statement on May 12 announcing its disarm and disband, concluding a 40-year armed campaign against the Turkish state. The group said the move followed renewed appeals from its imprisoned leader Abdullah Ocalan, who has been serving a life sentence in solitary confinement since 1999 on Imrali Island near Istanbul.

Founded in 1978 and launching its insurgency in 1984, the PKK has long sought greater autonomy and cultural rights for Turkey’s Kurdish population. The conflict has claimed more than 40,000 lives, according to local estimates, and has drawn international scrutiny due to the prolonged security crackdown in Kurdish provinces.

Genc, now 50, joined the PKK in the mid-1990s while studying in Istanbul. She said growing up amid forced evacuations, village burnings, and what she called “state repression” pushed many young Kurds toward armed struggle. “It was a time when families were disappearing, villages were emptied by force,” she recalled. “You felt like there was no peaceful way to demand rights.”

Following Ocalan’s arrest in Nairobi in 1999 by Turkish intelligence in cooperation with international agencies, he surprised many within the PKK by calling for calm and urging his supporters to turn to democratic methods. He encouraged militants to return to Turkey unarmed to demonstrate goodwill.

That year, Genc was part of a group of eight PKK members—five men and three women—who crossed into Turkey near Semdinli, surrendering to military personnel positioned across the rugged border area. The group was detained and later transferred to Van, where Genc was held and sentenced to nearly six years in prison.

“The purpose of our return was symbolic,” she said. “It was intended to show that the PKK was serious about a peaceful solution.”

After her release, she worked as a journalist and later joined the Sosyo Politik think tank, focusing on Kurdish political issues and conflict research. However, her writing and public commentary led to a second prison term of three-and-a-half years.

“Working toward peace here carries risks,” she said. “Whether you hold a gun or a pen, it doesn’t make much difference in the eyes of the authorities.”

According to Genc, the current government under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has yet to offer a public response or clear policy following the PKK’s demobilization declaration. She said no new laws or amnesty provisions have been introduced, and Ocalan’s detention conditions have not changed.

“There’s been silence from Ankara,” she said. “Why are ill prisoners not being released? Why hasn’t there been any gesture to acknowledge this step?”

The PKK leadership has framed the decision as a strategic shift toward legal and political engagement. Genc echoed this, noting that the organization is “not surrendering but restructuring.”

“The movement is preparing to evolve into a political force,” she said. “But that requires a transformation on both sides—not just laying down arms.”

She emphasized that the Turkish government must also undertake reforms to address long-standing Kurdish grievances, including constitutional recognition, language rights, and security practices.

“The state can’t resolve a conflict this old by holding onto the same tactics,” Genc said. “It has to change as well.”

Despite a renewed peace climate, heavy security presence remains across Diyarbakir and other areas of Turkish Kurdistan. Military checkpoints, roadblocks, and patrols are still part of daily life, she added.

“The atmosphere hasn’t changed on the ground,” she said. “People still live under military control. That’s not what peace looks like.”

No official figures exist on the number of individuals imprisoned for alleged ties to the PKK, and public information about the status of those incarcerated under related charges remains limited.

Genc said the current peace opportunity is fragile. Without visible policy shifts or public commitments from the state, many former fighters and community members remain doubtful.

“This is not about symbols—it’s about steps,” she said. “Declarations must be followed by action.”

Asked whether she feels hopeful about the process, Genc replied cautiously. “There’s been too much loss to speak of hope lightly,” she said. “But we are here, and we’re watching.”

Turkey’s official stance continues to classify the PKK as a ‘terrorist’ organization—a designation also adopted by the United States and the European Union. However, many rights groups and independent observers have questioned this label, citing the group’s focus on military targets and its strictly observed avoidance of civilian casualties.

(With files from AFP)