All Eyes Turn to Next Steps amid PKK's Dissolution

In a statement circulated by outlets on May 12, PKK said it formally decided to disband and end its armed struggle during a congress held between May 5-7.

The move follows renewed dialogue involving the organization's jailed leader, Abdullah Öcalan. PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and officials from his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) have long said the initiative will proceed in gradual stages, while no official roadmap has been made public.

According to a report by private broadcaster CNN Türk, the disarmament phase will be carried out in three stages and under the supervision of U.N. representatives and other international observers.

The handover of arms will reportedly take place in several towns in Iraq's north, including Amedi and Kani Masi in Duhok, Binar and Koy Sanjaq in Erbil, and Ranya and Said Sadiq in Sulaymaniyah.

Mediators, non-governmental groups or international organizations are expected to play a role in in managing the withdrawal of PKK members from mountain strongholds, local media said.

The process will also address the future of senior PKK figures, including the possibility of relocating them to third countries. 

Authorities are considering whether lower-ranking members without criminal records will be allowed to return to Turkey, according to several reports.

Öcalan’s role in the dialogue period has been followed by the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party). The pro-Kurdish party is calling for improved prison conditions on the İmralı island off Istanbul and the implementation of the “right to hope."

The regulation would allow prisoners serving aggravated life sentences the possibility of conditional release after 25 years.

Still, Turkish government officials have reiterated that there will be no change in Öcalan’s status.

Captured in Kenya in 1999 and originally sentenced to death — a sentence commuted to life after the abolition of capital punishment in 2004 — the PKK leader remains imprisoned on the island.

Once the initial phases are completed, the parliament may open discussions under the banner of "democratic transformation," sources from the AKP told daily Turkey.

The DEM Party is pushing for reforms on legal proceedings related to jailed PKK members and mechanisms for political representation.

Source: HDN