Kurdish militants who have made a 40 -year insurgency in Turkey declared the fire cessation on Saturday in which it could mark a significant boost to The President Recep Tayyip Erdogan Government, two days after its imprisoned leader asked that the group disarm.
The announcement of the Kurdistan workers’ party, or PKK, is presented in the context of Fundamental changes in the regionincluding the reconfiguration of power to neighboring Syria after the Editorial of President Bashar Assadthe weakening of the Militant movement of Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Israel-Hamas War a Gaza.
The conflict between Turkey and PKK has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths since it began in 1984. The cessation of fire is the first sign of a breakthrough since the peace talks between the PKK and Ankara have broken down in the summer of 2015.
The PKK statement was published by the Firat News Agency, a media outlet near the group on Saturday. He has been referring to the leader of the insurgents, Abdullah Ocalan, who has been imprisoned by Turkey since 1999.
« Today we declare an effective cessation of opening the way for the implementation of the APO leader’s call for peace and democratic society. None of our forces will take armed actions unless they attach themselves, » he said, in reference to Ocalan for his nickname.
Metin Yoksu / AP
On Thursday, a delegation of Kurds politicians announced the Ocalan call for the PKK to put his arms and dissolve after visiting it in the island prison.
The White House praised the call to peace, CBS News previously reported This week.
In his statement, the PKK executive committee said that Ocalan’s call stated that a « new historical process has begun in Kurdistan and the Middle East. » Kurdistan refers to the parts of Turkey, Iraq, Syria and Iran, inhabited by Kurds.
Despite stating that « it would fulfill and implement the requirements of the call on our side, » the PKK emphasized that « democratic politics and legal reasons must also be suitable for success. »
Ocalan’s call was like the main political party Pro-Kurd de Turkey has faced pressure, with several of the mayors eliminated from the post in recent months and replaced by named government.
The PKK also called for Ocalan to be released from the Imrali prison, located in the Marmara Sea, to « personally direct and execute » a party congress that would lead the militants to put their arms.
The peace initiative between the Turkish State and the PKK, which is considered a terrorist organization for Turkey and its western allies, was started in October by the Erdogan coalition partner, Devlet Bahceli, a far -right politician who suggested that Ocalan could receive probation if his group resigned from violence and designs.
Berkay Mandiraci, Senior turkey analyst with the International Crisis Group Think Tank, told CBS News a peace agreement between the Turkish government and the PKK could « eliminate this long -term thorn in bilateral ties » and could lead to « a series of dividends for Turkey. »
Erdogan said that Ocalan’s message was a « new phase » in peace efforts in Turkey.
« There is the opportunity to take a historic step to demolish the wall of terror that has remained between (Turks and Kurdish peoples) of 1,000 years of age, » Erdogan said on Friday.
The Government’s first response to the cessation of fire was Cevdet Yilmaz Vice President. « A new phase has been admitted to the goal of a turkey without terror … We hope this opportunity will be used, this effort will be successfully and successfully concluded, » he published to X.
Some believe that the main objective of the reconciliation effort is for the Erdogan government to gain Kurdish support for a new constitution that would allow it to be maintained in power beyond 2028, when its term ends.
Bahceli has openly requested a new constitution, saying that it was essential that the future of Turkey remains in power. Erdogan and Bahceli seek the parliamentary support of the Party of Equality and Democracy of the Pro-Kurd, or DEM.
« There will be a series of meetings next week, including officials and politicians in the state, and many things will become clearer and concrete. We hope that everything will be organized in the next three months, » said Sirri Sureyya Oncer, one of the members of the DEM who visited Ocalan in prison on Thursday.
The leader of Syrian Democratic Forces, aimed at the United States, said that the Call to Ocal for cessation of fire does not apply to his group in Syria.
OCALAN, 75, is a significant influence on the Kurdish movement despite its 25 -year imprisonment, during which the PKK has been led by more important figures who have fled and found a shrine in the Kurdish region of northern Iraq.
But a decade of fighting seems to have « weakened » the PKK, Mandiraci said. « The Turkish military expelled the group to the south, » East Turkey and pressed it in the steep and opposed mountains of North Iraq, « he said.
In recent years, the PKK has been limited to isolated attacks within Turkey, as the Turkish military, supported by armed drones, has pushed PKK insurgents more and more through the mountainous border in Iraq.
The leader of Syrian Democratic Forces, aimed at the United States, said that the Call to Ocal for cessation of fire does not apply to his group in Syria.
In Syria, Kurdish fighters, who have ties to PKK, have been involved in intense struggles with Turkish support forces on the ground.
The Turkish government, however, says that all the Kurdish groups that claims to be related to the PKK, whether in Turkey, Syria or Iraq, must dissolve.
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