In the first week of April, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan met with a delegation from the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM). Four months later, in early July, a second meeting between the two sides took place, formally initiating a peace process between the Kurdish movement and the Turkish state.
Two days after this second meeting, Abdullah Öcalan, the imprisoned Kurdish leader and founder of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), appeared in a seven-minute video. It was his first public appearance in 26 years. In a historic and succinct address to his followers, Öcalan declared: “The era of arms is over.”
He announced that the party’s primary objective, the recognition of Kurdish identity, had been achieved, and that the time had come to replace armed resistance with political engagement. Shortly afterwards, Erdoğan publicly affirmed his commitment to the peace process, which includes the disarmament of the PKK, and announced the formation of a parliamentary committee to establish its legal framework.
Erdoğan’s message sought to reassure the Turkish public, particularly his supporters in the Justice and Development Party (AKP), that the peace process would serve national unity and the interests of all citizens, regardless of ethnicity. Öcalan’s message, on the other hand, was aimed at assuring the Kurdish community that the decision was not a surrender but a strategic pivot: from armed struggle to political participation.
On the ground, Öcalan’s statement has drawn growing Kurdish support for disarmament and engagement in the peace process, even among sceptics wary of the Turkish government and Erdoğan’s intentions. Opinion polls indicate a majority of voters from the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), as well as members of the Zaza community, who identify as Kurdish, support the initiative. Nationally, the disarmament of the PKK has also garnered above-average public backing. In a symbolic gesture responding to Öcalan’s call, the first group of PKK fighters ceremonially burned their weapons in Sulaymaniyah, northern Iraq, in July.
