Bahçeli Hails PKK Disarmament, Thanks DEM Party Leaders

A first group of Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militants surrendered and destroyed their weapons in a ceremony held on 11 July in the Dukan district of Iraq’s Sulaymaniyah province. The move follows the organisation’s 5–7 May congress, where it voted to dissolve itself, and an earlier call by jailed leader Abdullah Öcalan. Journalists and international observers monitored the event from a nearby staging area amid tight security. Milliyetçi Hareket Partisi (MHP) chairman Devlet Bahçeli welcomed the disarmament, declaring in a written statement that “with the completion of the weapons hand-over on the agreed timetable, bad memories will be left behind and the Turkish nation will shape the new century.” He praised the pro-Kurdish DEM Party for maintaining a “balanced and responsible line” and supporting a “terror-free Turkey.” Bahçeli telephoned DEM co-chair Pervin Buldan and senior figure Ahmet Türk to express his thanks. Local media reported celebrations in the southeastern city of Şanlıurfa, where residents voiced support for President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Bahçeli’s role in the process. Further groups of PKK members are expected to follow the disarmament timetable announced by the organisation’s umbrella body, the KCK.