The Kurdish militia group, the PKK, had decided to disband and lay down its arms, after decades of launching attacks against Turkey and bombing civilian areas.
The move came after the PKK’s ageing jailed leader, Abdullah Ocalan, called in February for the group to end its campaign. From his prison cell, Ocalan sent a message to his followers: ‘I am making a call for the laying down of arms… The PKK must dissolve itself.’
Ocalan wondered if Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams might be able to help? ‘I know he is a friend of ours,’ he said.
The Marxist-inspired PKK, which has long been branded a terrorist organisation by Turkey as well as the UK, the US and other western countries, responded to his call today, announcing that it had ‘carried the Kurdish issue to a level where it can be solved by democratic politics.’
The announcement will boost the prestige of Turkey’s President Erdogan, who can now boast that he achieved what his predecessors failed to do – the end of the PKK’s violent ‘armed struggle’.
Britain’s best politics newsletters
You get two free articles each week when you sign up to The Spectator’s emails.
Already a subscriber? Log in
Comments
Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just $5 for 3 monthsAlready a subscriber? Log in