Gülistan Gülmüş-Mijdar Akman

 

RIHA - Journalist Fréderike Geerdink, who attended the weapons destruction ceremony held after the PKK's self-dissolution, said: “The state does not even acknowledge the existence of the Kurdish issue; this is the fundamental reason why no progress is being made. How is it possible that we cannot freely reach the person we need to speak to? Our chief negotiator must be accessible; he must also be able to speak to journalists.”

 

Kurdish People’s Leader Abdullah Öcalan issued a historic and significant call on 27 February 2025. Following this call, which Abdullah Öcalan titled ‘Peace and a Democratic Society’, the PKK announced at its 12th Congress, held between 5 and 12 May, that it was disbanding. On 11 July, the PKK destroyed its weapons in a ceremony held outside the Casene Cave in the Dukan district of Sulaymaniyah (Silêmanî) in south Kurdistan.

 

In a statement issued in October 2025, the movement took a further step by announcing that it had “withdrawn all its forces from Turkey” as part of the dissolution and disarmament process. However, at this stage, no concrete steps have been taken in response to the sincere gestures made by Abdullah Öcalan and the movement. Whilst the Kurdish People’s Leader Abdullah Öcalan continues to be held in solitary confinement, no legal reforms have been implemented.

 

Journalist Fréderike Geerdink, who attended the weapons destruction ceremony, shared her observations on the process.

 

‘Besê Hozat and strong determination’

 

Journalist Fréderike Geerdink, who attended the weapons-burning ceremony, began her speech by reflecting on that day, saying, “I was there on 11 July last year; how can I describe the atmosphere? It was emotional and intense; it felt like a historic moment, but it was also an emotional one; the politicians and the Kurdish Peace Mothers present were in tears at the end of the ceremony because of all the sacrifices made during this very long armed struggle. The armed struggle was declared to have ended, but the problem has not been resolved and, of course, the struggle continues; yet in this sense, it was a very historic and emotionally charged moment for the people. I also spoke with Besê Hozat and a few other leaders. After the ceremony, they returned to the cave from which they had come. It is not a cave where they usually stay, as it lies outside the area under their control. I had the opportunity to interview them, and I must say there was a very strong sense of determination. They said, ‘When the armed struggle began in 1984, the situation of the Kurds in Turkey was fundamentally different from what it is now.’ This is a historical assessment made by Öcalan and the PKK. “If you look at the current situation of the Kurds in Turkey, would you decide to take up the armed struggle again? No, you wouldn’t. Because the armed struggle has a very profound impact on society, and it was necessary back then because the Kurds were completely marginalised; however, the struggle has now reached a point where the Kurds are no longer marginalised,” she continued.

 

‘If Turkey attacks again’

 

Fréderike Geerdink, who stated that in her interviews with Besê Hozat, Co-Chair of the KCK Executive Council, and other guerrillas, they had indicated that the struggle had now evolved into a different form of struggle, said: “I asked the leaders I spoke to, including Besê Hozat, ‘If Turkey attacks again – because, in short, we know we cannot trust the state. What can you do if the state attacks again?’ And, of course, I emphasised that this is why they haven’t burned their weapons. They haven’t burned all their weapons; they still have them because they claim they have the right to self-defence. Of course, if you were to hand over all your weapons now, you wouldn’t be able to defend yourselves against a state that is untrustworthy and could resort to violence at any moment. That is what I learnt. The right to self-determination is very important. I know this from studying Öcalan’s ideology as well; self-defence is the right of every living being – you have the right to self-defence not only as an individual but also as a nation, as a group of people. However, this does not rule out the end of armed struggle. Weapons are necessary for possible self-defence in the event of an attack by the state. “That is what I learnt, and I saw their determination,” she stated.

 

 

‘The main reason the Turkish government has failed to take action is that it does not acknowledge the problem’

 

Fréderike Geerdink, emphasising that there are no legal regulations despite the process, stated that the state must first acknowledge the existence of the Kurdish issue, which it has previously denied, saying, “There are no constitutional guarantees regarding the identity of the Kurds. Their political and cultural rights are not respected in any way. The Kurdish language is not recognised in law or the constitution; Abdullah Öcalan is still in prison. There are thousands of political prisoners. People are still serving prison sentences of over 30 years. People are now being released after serving 30, 32 or 34 years in prison. Political prisoners, who have spent half their lives in prison on entirely political charges, are being released but receive no compensation; it is not acknowledged that they were imprisoned for political reasons and that they did nothing wrong. And the scale of this injustice, once you realise it, is truly profound and must come to an end. This is precisely what the Kurdish struggle is about; this is what they explained to me more clearly last year. The struggle continues. The other side does not even acknowledge the existence of the Kurdish issue. This is the fundamental reason why no steps were taken last year; the state does not regard taking such steps as its responsibility,” she said.

 

‘We must be able to reach the chief negotiator; Öcalan must be able to speak to journalists’

 

Fréderike Geerdink, noting that Kurdish People’s Leader Abdullah Öcalan is still being held in solitary confinement, emphasised that Abdullah Öcalan is the chief negotiator, saying, “How is it possible that we cannot freely reach the very person we need to speak to? This is one of the points the movement emphasises; our chief negotiator must be accessible. Furthermore, he must be able to speak to journalists. I would like to interview Öcalan, but I cannot travel to Turkey. I am still banned from entering Turkey. Yet there are many journalists in Turkey and Kurdistan who wish to interview him. If Erdoğan has a say in this matter in the public sphere, and if Barzani – Erdoğan’s coalition partner from the far-right MHP – has access to the media, the public and everyone else, why shouldn’t the chief negotiator on the other side have the same? “This would simply create a level playing field, but that is not the state’s aim, of course. And I think this would give the PKK and the Kurdish movement far too much influence in the eyes of the state, if they were to grant much easier access to Öcalan – which they do not want. If they were to do so, they would be granting the PKK greater recognition,” she stated.

 

 

‘The PKK is always waging its own struggle’

 

Fréderike Geerdink, who shared the response she received to the question ‘What will the Movement do?’—posed during her interviews with PKK sources regarding the possibility of the process breaking down—said, “I found the answer they gave me very interesting; they told me, ‘We are now transforming ourselves into a movement that no longer relies on armed struggle. This is a huge transformation because that is how it all began in 1984. The armed struggle began, and for decades this movement was built on a strategy of armed struggle. We are no longer waging an armed struggle, so we need to restructure ourselves. As long as we continue to do this, we are not dependent on the state to sustain this process. We are not ending the peace process. ‘We have our own work to do and we are doing it, but if the state attacks, we will defend ourselves,’ they said. This is not the end of the peace process; it is self-defence. I found this very interesting, and it is precisely what I have always observed within the movement: they are conducting their own struggle. I think this is very powerful. They are not necessarily reacting to the state, but they are forming their own assessments and strategies regarding where the struggle stands. I suppose that was the most important point I learnt last week. It also confirms the determination I saw when I spoke to Besê Hozat and other leaders last year. In other words, this was confirmed in my interview last week,” she stated.