In a moment that could reshape the trajectory of Kurdish history, jailed militant leader Abdullah Ocalan issued a message this week from his Turkish prison cell urging the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) to dissolve and disarm. The announcement has ignited a mix of relief and apprehension among Kurds in Syria and Iraq, who have long yearned for peace after decades of struggle for autonomy and survival.
For Kurds, a deeply rooted ethnic minority in Turkey, Syria, Iraq, and Iran, autonomy is a dream reached at tremendous cost. Decades of strife, persecution, and exile have pained entire generations. Yet in recent years there have been tantalizingly thin moments of relative quiet in Iraqi Kurdistan and northeast Syria, in which tens of millions live in self-governing or partially self-governing territory. Yet they are wins still inextricable from PKK’s prolonged campaign against Turkey—a campaign dominating much Kurdish politics in recent years.
Ocalan, the ideologist of PKK and widely respected Kurd, is in prison since 1999 in Imrali Island. His voice as subdued as in prison still finds resonance in Kurdish society. His appeal for disarmament this week is a possible watershed, for he is opening himself up for a move away from armed strife towards acceptance and cohabitation. For some, it offers a glimmer of hope for lasting peace. For others, it raises fears about what compromises may lie ahead—and whether such a transition can truly secure Kurdish rights.
In Sulaimaniyah, Iraqi Kurdistan’s second-largest city, 31-year-old Rebaz Hassan waited anxiously for Ocalan’s message. Like many Kurds, he views the aging leader as both a symbol of resistance and a polarizing figure whose decisions carry immense weight. “We’ve sacrificed so much,” said Hassan, reflecting on the battles fought by his parents’ generation. “If this leads to real peace, then maybe it’s worth it. We need guarantees, not just words.”
The response throughout the region reflects Hassan’s ambivalence. There’s cautious optimism in northeastern Syria, where Kurdish-led forces helped defeat ISIS with international support. For many, disarmament is viewed as an opportunity to solidify hard-fought autonomy away from social controls and to focus on rebuilding devastated communities. Yet doubts remained about Ankara’s intentions, in light of its history of military raids into Kurdish-held territory.
In the rugged mountains of northern Iraq, a stronghold of many PKK fighters, by contrast, all is quiet. The group has not publicly responded to Ocalan’s appeal, and its rank-and-file members — and many supporters — are left wondering where to go from here. These guerrillas have fought for decades under Ocalan’s banner and in his harsh regime of life and isolation. Now they’re staring down the possibility of putting down arms without knowing what happens next.
Some analysts believe that disarmament would expose Kurdish groups to danger because their areas remain under dispute for autonomy. Some believers oppose weapon disarmament because it would weaken the large-scale Kurdish rights movement that spans across Turkey along with Syria Iraq and Iran. Layla Mustafa who studies at Erbil University asserts that peace matters but should never demand Kurds to abandon their fight for justice alongside recognition.
The understanding underlying Ocalan’s statement goes beyond typical military strategy because it exposes how complex the Kurdish fight continues to be. Each Kurdish individual who welcomes peace through this development faces worried about the unknown elements peace may introduce. The upcoming situation depends on PKK actions as well as the commitment of local powers to fulfill their statements about dialogue and peace-making initiatives. The Kurdish dream of achieving both unity and sovereignty continues to escape reality as historical realities force this vision to remain unattainable.
