After decades of armed conflict with Turkey, the PKK, or Kurdistan Workers' Party, announced that it will disband and disarm, following a directive from it’s jailed leader Abdullah Öcalan. This move is seen as a potential step towards peace in the region and could have significant implications for relations between Turkey and Kurdish groups in neighboring countries.
In 1991, I covered the PKK as part of a comprehensive project on the struggles of the Kurdish people, the largest ethnic group in the world without a nation of their own. My work took me to eight countries, where Kurds are concentrated - Turkey, Iraq, Iran and Syria - as well as to the broader diaspora in the UK and Germany.
The PKK is considered a terrorist organization by Turkey and several other countries, having bombed and shot thousands of people in Turkey and beyond. They have extensive political and organizational operations in many European countries as well.
For Kurdish people, particularly those living in Turkey and Europe, the PKK has been viewed as a separatist organization fighting for the cultural rights and liberation of their people under Turkish rule. While ethnic Kurds make up about 20% of Turkey’s population, they have always been viewed as a troublesome minority, even officially referred to as “mountain Turks.”
Over decades of covering the Kurdish struggle, I’ve come to understand the PKK’s dual role as both a militant force and a cultural movement working to preserve Kurdish language, dress, and history. I have witnessed the discrimination and violence inflicted on Kurds by the Turkish state. Though I don’t claim to be an expert, the Kurdish people have profoundly shaped my life and work. I recall a history book from the 1940s in which a British historian wrote, “You can solve the Palestinian-Israeli problem, but until you solve the Kurdish issue, there will never be true peace in the Middle East.”
The following images are a small selection from my extensive archives on the PKK and their role in Kurdish life and identity. I’ve also included links to news stories for those who want to learn more.
Learn more:
Kurdish group PKK says it is laying down arms and disbanding
PKK to disband, potentially ending decades of conflict in Turkey
The PKK Kurdish militant group will disband as part of a peace initiative with Turkey