The PKK announces its dissolution
At Abdullah Öcalan's call, the PKK declares an end to its armed struggle, holds a symbolic disarmament, and Turkey passes a law for reintegrating its members.
- PKK Kurdish militant group will disband, disarm as part of a peace initiative with Turkey — Associated Press (via The Korea Times) (2025)
- PKK holds disarmament ceremony to end four-decade armed struggle — Bianet (2025)
- Turkey's landmark PKK peace process law takes effect after publication in Official Gazette — Stockholm Center for Freedom (2026)
The process began in late 2024, when Devlet Bahçeli, leader of the Turkish nationalist MHP and an ally of President Erdoğan, unexpectedly suggested that Öcalan could address parliament if he called off the insurgency. In February 2025 Öcalan, from his prison cell, called on the PKK to lay down its arms and dissolve. In May 2025 the PKK announced that its congress had decided to dissolve the organisation and end the armed struggle.
- PKK Kurdish militant group will disband, disarm as part of a peace initiative with Turkey — Associated Press (via The Korea Times) (2025)
- PKK holds disarmament ceremony to end four-decade armed struggle — Bianet (2025)
In August 2026 Turkey’s parliament passed a law, the Law on Strengthening National Solidarity and Social Integration, under which prosecutions and sentences of PKK members can be suspended once the National Security Council confirms that the organisation has disarmed. It excludes intentional killings, and it does not provide for Öcalan’s release, a central demand of the movement.
- Turkey's landmark PKK peace process law takes effect after publication in Official Gazette — Stockholm Center for Freedom (2026)
- Turkey's law on PKK peace limited to verifying giving up arms, no freedom yet for Öcalan — Turkish Minute (2026)
A historic, voluntary step towards peace and democratic politics that must be met by the state with legal guarantees, Kurdish rights and a role for Öcalan.
- PKK Kurdish militant group will disband, disarm as part of a peace initiative with Turkey — Associated Press (via The Korea Times) (2025)
- Turkey's law on PKK peace limited to verifying giving up arms, no freedom yet for Öcalan — Turkish Minute (2026)
A step towards a "terror-free Turkey". Legal relief for members depends on verified, complete disarmament, and the law is not an amnesty.
- Turkey's landmark PKK peace process law takes effect after publication in Official Gazette — Stockholm Center for Freedom (2026)
- PKK Kurdish militant group will disband, disarm as part of a peace initiative with Turkey — Associated Press (via The Korea Times) (2025)
Why it matters today
For Kurds in Turkey this is the biggest chance in decades to end a war that shaped every family's life. Hope is real but cautious: many remember the 2013–15 process that collapsed, and the political rights Kurds want, and Öcalan's own fate, remain open questions.