Overview

• Abdullah Öcalan publicly renounced armed struggle this week, urging a shift toward politics and social peace.
• In a gathering held in May, PKK commanders based in the mountains of northern Iraq endorsed his call and will conduct a symbolic weapons deposit tomorrow.
• The ceremony’s scale and security arrangements remain unclear given ongoing Turkish military operations in the region.
• Turkey continues to designate the PKK as a terrorist organization, and there are no guarantees on political reforms or on Öcalan’s release from Imrali Island prison.
• Four decades of conflict between the PKK and Turkish forces have resulted in at least 45,000 deaths, framing the stakes of this transition.