Following the video message released yesterday by Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan, the PKK will hold a ceremony tomorrow in the city of Sulaymaniyah in the Federal Kurdistan Region to lay down its arms. A group including politicians, civil society representatives, journalists and writers set off from Amed to cover the ceremony.  

 

Ender Öndeş, Kenan Kırkkaya and Candan Yıldız, journalists travelling to Sulaymaniyah, shared their thoughts with our agency.  

 

Öndeş noted that it was important to see what steps the government would take, adding that the concrete step to be taken by the government would be to establish a commission in the Parliament.  “We will bear witness to that moment. We will write about our impressions.” 

 

Candan Yıldız said that after the disarmament timetable was finalised, the pace of negotiations and recent statements suggested that steps towards resolving the issue would accelerate, adding, “The commission to be established in Parliament is particularly important.” 

 

Journalist Kenan Kırkaya, who emphasised the importance of the steps taken in a process where the cards are being reshuffled in the region, stated that the point reached today is the result of great effort and that Abdullah Öcalan continues to speak out for peace and resolution despite 26 years of isolation. Kırkaya noted that the steps taken by the PKK have also had consequences in international politics. 

 

Kırkaya stated that politics and the media are in a state of turmoil and that the process cannot be continued with rote words and ways of thinking. Emphasising that a new language and understanding must be brought to the new process, Kırkaya noted that legal steps must also be taken in conjunction with the commission in Parliament and stressed: "The path to democratisation has finally converged with the Kurdish issue. From now on, Turkey's democratisation and everyone's ability to breathe easily will depend on this. Steps must be taken to achieve this."