PKK declares truce with Turkiye after 40 years of conflict

Sub: IR

Sec: Places in news

Context:

The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) declared a ceasefire with Turkey following a call from its jailed leader, Abdullah Ocalan, urging the group to disband and end its armed struggle.
Analysts suggest that a peace deal between Turkey and the PKK could pave the way for greater stability in neighbouring Syria.

Background of the conflict:

The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), designated a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States, and the European Union, has been waging an insurgency since 1984.
The primary goal of the PKK was initially the creation of an independent Kurdish state in Turkey. However, over time, their objectives have evolved. The PKK now seeks greater autonomy and cultural and linguistic rights for Kurds within the framework of Turkey’s state institutions.
The group is composed mostly of Kurds, an ethnic group that makes up approximately 20% of Turkey’s population of 85 million people.

Kurdistan Workers’ Party:

The Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK has been involved in an on-and-off armed insurgency against Turkiyesince 1984.
It was founded by the Marxist revolutionary Abdullah Ocalan in 1978 to create an independent Kurdistan.
PKK is labelled a “terror organisation” by Turkiye, the United States and European Union.
PKK has bases in northern Iraqfrom where it launches attacks into Turkiye.

The Kurd issue:

The Kurdish people are indigenous to a region known as Kurdistan, which spans parts of southeastern Turkey, northern Syria, northern Iraq, and western Iran.
Over the years, this region has been split by the borders of several countries, leaving the Kurds as a stateless minority in each.
The modern Kurdish issue traces its origins to the early 20th century after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. The Kurds were promised an independent state by the Western powers following World War I in the Treaty of Sevres (1920), but this was not realized.
Instead, the Kurdish population was incorporated into the new states of Turkey, Iraq, Syria, and Iran, where they faced political, cultural, and legal suppression.