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The PKK, an armed movement aimed at defending the human rights of the Kurdish people


by Martin Aslan

 

The PKK, a terrorist organization?


The Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) was founded in 1978 by Abdullah Öcalan. Following socialist/marxist principles, its main objective was to establish an independent Kurdish state and ultimately advocate for a fully democratic republic in Turkey. However, in 1984, the PKK initiated an armed insurgency. Over the years, the group has been responsible for violent activities, mainly in 1993, 2011, and 2016. As a result, Turkiye officially designated the PKK as a terrorist organization. The latest outbreak occurred on October 23rd, 2024 when the PKK targeted the headquarters of Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) near Ankara.


Türkiye disregard for human rights?


A. Öcalan, the PKK leader, has been captured in Kenya in 1999 and sentenced to death. However, as Turkey sought to join the European Union, the death penalty is abolished in the country, and his sentence was commuted to life imprisonment. He has been held in solitary confinement on İmralı Island, near Istanbul, for over 25 years, with limited contact with his family, lawyers, and political allies. While A. Öcalan may have been involved in orchestrating attacks, It doesn’t give Türkiye the right to deny him his human rights. There is no other way for a real democracy. Let’s remember that Ankara, as a member of the European Court of Human Rights, must respect the European Convention for the protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, that in Öcalan case Türkiye has already been condemned by the court for failing to respect the right to a fair trial (articles 5§3; 5§4 and 6§3) and that Ocalan supporters argue that Türkiye should also be condemned for violating the the Article 3-prohibition of torture, “No one shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or to degrading treatment or punishment”.


From armed to political struggle.


In 2013, A. Öcalan called for a truce, and this led to the start of a peace process, known as the "Barış Süreci," and aiming at establishing a ceasefire and implementing reforms to Kurds political rights. In the meantime, a political movement emerged, advocating for the rights of Kurds in Turkiye. Next to the reform of the Turkish Constitution in which a 10% threshold is required for parliamentary representation, parties defending people formed an alliance and created the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP). During the June 2015 general elections, the HDP secured 13% of the vote. However, the AKP called for a re-election in November 2015, and the HDP garnered 10%. In addition, the HDP's leader, Selahattin Demirtaş, received 9% of the votes during the 2014 presidential elections and 8.5% in 2018. Despite being jailed since November 2016. The HDP is now known as the Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party). It keeps advocating for a “peaceful and honorable resolution of the Kurdish issue, the Alevi issue, and all ethnic, religious, and cultural identity issues in Turkiye”.


What is the Türkiye’s true agenda?


Recently, in late 2024, there seems to be a shift in Turkey's approach toward peace with the PKK. In December 2024, several members of the DEM Party, including the dismissed mayor of Mardin, were permitted to visit A. Öcalan. Meanwhile, the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), an ally of the AKP, has urged the PKK leader to announce the group's dissolution before Parliament. On February 15, 2025, A. Öcalan may agree to lay down arms.

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