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“Tens of thousands of people lost their lives, a result of armed conflict,” and “the terrorist group laying down its arms is a victory for civilization,” Pigott stated.
WASHINGTON DC, United States The State Department has expressed U.S. support for the announcement of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) that it is dissolving itself.
The PKK held its 12th Congress last week. The U.S., European Union, and Turkey all classify the organization as a terrorist group.
But following its 12th Congress, the PKK announced that it was disbanding itself. A statement to that effect was released on Monday.
Read More: PKK Announces Formal Disbandment, Ending Armed Conflict with Turkey
Asked about the PKK announcement at a press briefing on Tuesday, the State Department’s Principal Deputy Press Spokesperson, Tommy Pigott, explained that it represented a positive step from the U.S. perspective.
“We welcome the recent announcement from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party on its intent to disband,” Pigott replied.
He noted that the U.S. had designated the PKK as a foreign terrorist organization in 1997—which was during Bill Clinton’s presidency, and a year before the PKK leader, Abdullah Ocalan, was captured by Turkish intelligence and taken back to Turkey.
As Pigott explained on Tuesday, “Tens of thousands of people lost their lives, a result of armed conflict in the decades since the organization was founded, and the terrorist group laying down its arms is a victory for civilization.”
“It is the United States’s hope that this announcement will lead to increased stability for the region,” he concluded.
Broad Welcome to PKK Decision in Region
The PKK announcement was immediately, and widely, welcomed in the Middle East, including in the Kurdistan Region.
President Masoud Barzani issued a statement later on Monday welcoming the PKK decision.
Read More: President Barzani Welcomes “Positive Steps” in Türkiye-PKK Peace Process
The PKK’s announcement was also welcomed in Türkiye, where President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in a televised address that evening, stated, “We are moving confidently toward our goal of a terror-free Türkiye, overcoming obstacles, breaking prejudices, and thwarting the traps of discord.”
It was also welcomed in Baghdad, as well as in Tehran.
Read More: Iraq Welcomes PKK’s Decision to Disarm and Dissolve
Read More: ‘A Key Step Toward Renouncing Violence,’ Says Iran on PKK Disarmament Call
Of course, these positions are all based on the assumption that the PKK’s disbandment will proceed as announced. If it does not, then, presumably, renewed tensions will follow.
Background to these Events
The PKK’s announcement of its self-dissolution reflects a significant weakness, which, itself, is the product of the past two decades.
The PKK emerged out of the student days, in the 1970s, of its long-time leader, Abdullah Ocalan. However, the PKK only became a significant force after it began receiving direct support from Hafez al-Assad’s Baathist regime in Syria, which, itself, reflected indirect support for the PKK from the Soviet Union.
In the 1980s, Ocalan was based in Syria, and the PKK was used to harass a NATO member–that is, Turkey.
The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 marked a significant turning point. Seven years later, in 1998, Turkey obliged the regime in Damascus to expel Ocalan, by threatening Syria militarily.
That could not have happened, had the Soviet Union continued to exist. But with the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War, Moscow was no longer interested in supporting the PKK.
So as Turkey, with U.S. backing, pressed Syria, Ocalan had no really safe place to which he could go. He ended up in Kenya. However, Turkish intelligence, acting on a tip from U.S. intelligence, succeeded in capturing him there in early 1999.
Ocalan was brought back to Turkey, where he was tried and given a life sentence. He has been serving it in a prison on Imrali island in the Sea of Marmara, some 65 kilometers southwest of Istanbul.