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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Turkey’s main pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) on Monday said the peace process between the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and the Turkish state has entered a "brand new phase," following the PKK’s Sunday withdrawal of its fighters from Turkish territory.
At a press conference in Ankara, DEM Party Co-Chair Tulay Hatimogullari emphasized that the new era aims at the collective construction of a truly democratic Turkey.
"This moment is not a coincidence but the result of decades of unwavering effort," she said, noting that the process has reached a stage where "weapons have been silenced and conflicts have ended," and stressing "democratic integration" as the key principle for the new era.
Hatimogullari urged all sides to actively support the process, stating, "Now, the duty of all of us is to carefully cultivate this ground and build a democratic Turkey together." She outlined a vision for a democratized republic with an independent judiciary, strong local governance, and a state that does not define identities or beliefs - ensuring the republic is "everyone's republic."
She also called on the government to implement legislative and political reforms quickly, noting that society expects decisive action from the executive branch and the parliament.
Speaking alongside her, DEM Party Co-Chair Tuncer Bakirhan described the completion of the first phase of the peace process and stressed the urgency of moving to the second, more critical phase.
"We have arrived at a critical turning point of a long march. Every inch of Turkey's soil paid a great price and experienced immense pain," he said, emphasizing the need to achieve social peace through legal and political measures.
Bakirhan warned against undermining the peace process by "old order guardians" or other domestic and international actors, urging all parties to abandon past negative reflexes in favor of democratic, citizen-focused approaches.
“Fear scenarios may be produced, smear campaigns may occur, but we will stand firm. We will continue on the path of peace. We will not give up on peace,” he underlined.
Speaking to Rudaw on the sidelines of the conference, DEM Party Deputy Co-Chair Saruhan Oluc highlighted the need for new laws to manage the return of Kurdish fighters to Turkey.
"From now on, laws need to be enacted regarding how those in this situation will return to Turkey and how they will participate in social, political, cultural, and economic life.”
Concurrently, Mehmet Emin Ekmen, a lawmaker from Turkey's opposition Democracy and Progress Party (DEVA), also told Rudaw the critical issues plaguing the Turkish penal system, challenging ruling party leaders to act on their reform promises.
They are “constantly talking about reform, innovation, and democratic transformation,” Ekmen said, adding, "Whatever is on their agenda, they should bring it forward. We would also contribute positively to these efforts."
The backdrop
The PKK on Sunday began withdrawing its fighters from Turkey, marking the most significant step yet in its peace process with Ankara and moving closer to disarmament after more than forty years of conflict.
“Based on the 12th Congress decisions, we are carrying out the withdrawal of all our forces within Turkey’s borders... to the Medya Defense Areas, based on Leader Abdullah Ocalan’s approval,” the PKK said in a statement read during a press conference near its headquarters on Mount Qandil.
“These steps demonstrate our determination and clear stance in implementing the PKK’s 12th Congress decisions.”
The press conference, held in a remote Qandil village in the Kurdistan Region, featured 25 armed PKK fighters - including three commanders and eight women - who had just crossed from Turkey.
While the group did not specify the total number withdrawing, observers estimate between 200 and 300 combatants are involved, according to Agence France Presse (AFP).
The Sunday move followed a February call by imprisoned PKK leader Ocalan urging his followers to dissolve the organization and lay down arms. The Kurdish rebel group formally renounced its armed struggle in May and in July symbolically burned a cache of weapons in the Kurdistan Region’s eastern Sulaimani province.
Turkey, which has fought the PKK since 1984 in a conflict that claimed about 50,000 lives - mostly Kurdish fighters - has welcomed the move.
In a Sunday statement on X, Omer Celik, spokesperson for Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), said the PKK withdrawal and new disarmament steps are “advances in line with the main goal” of a “terror-free Turkey,” emphasizing the need for the process to continue “uninterrupted.”
The PKK, however, urged Ankara to take corresponding political and legal steps.
“A PKK-specific Transitional Law should form the basis,” and laws ensuring “freedom and democratic integration … should be enacted without delay,” the group told journalists at the Qandil ceremony, adding, that “significant legal arrangements compatible with freedom” are needed, calling for “laws specific to this process, not just an amnesty.”
The PKK also urged Turkey’s parliamentary peace commission to meet directly with Ocalan, who has been imprisoned on Imrali Island near Istanbul since 1999.
“The parliamentary commission overseeing the peace process must go to Leader Apo immediately and listen to him - that’s the key,” PKK spokesperson Sabri Ok said, using Abdullah Ocalan’s nickname.
“He [Ocalan] is the one who initiated and drove this process forward, so his voice must be heard as soon as possible,” Ok added.
Over the past year, Ocalan has received several visits from family members and negotiators from the DEM Party. In September, he met with his lawyers for the first time since 2019.
The DEM Party - Turkey’s third-largest political force and a key peace mediator - announced it will send a delegation to meet President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday to discuss next steps.
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