Turkey launches working groups to verify PKK disarmament in peace process rollout
Turkey’s monitoring body convened its first meeting, creating four working groups to oversee the PKK’s disarmament and related legal steps.
An Ankara-based monitoring commission held its inaugural session, chaired by Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz and attended by Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Defense Minister Yasar Guler and intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin. The panel established four specialized working groups to manage legal matters, progress tracking, social reintegration and the verification of PKK disarmament. This administrative step follows the PKK’s self-dissolution pledge in May 2025 and a parliament-passed law that offers conditional amnesty to many former militants.
PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan, serving a life sentence, described the meeting as evidence that the process is advancing. The verification results will be forwarded to the National Security Council, chaired by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, which will decide on amnesty applications. The PKK has warned that broader democratic reforms, including language rights and Ocalan’s release, remain essential for lasting peace.
Why it matters
It marks the first concrete implementation of Turkey’s Kurdish peace framework, affecting thousands of detainees and regional stability.
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