Erdogan says PKK disarmament opens ‘new page’ for Turkey

ISTANBUL, Turkey — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan calls for full support of the disarmament of Kurdish militants that began with a handover of the first batch of weapons by Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) forces, a step he said opened a new page for the country.

Thirty PKK militants burned their weapons at the mouth of a cave in northern Iraq on Friday, marking a symbolic but significant step toward ending a decades-long insurgency against Turkey.

“As of yesterday, the scourge of terrorism has entered the process of ending. Today is a new day; a new page has opened in history. Today, the doors of a great, powerful Turkey have been flung wide open,” Erdogan tells members of his AK Party in Ankara.

He says the recent steps have united the nation, and now the parliament will play a critical role in setting up a legal framework for completing the disarmament process.

“I hope that our parliament will support this process with the broadest possible participation,” Erdogan says.

Ankara has taken steps toward forming a parliamentary commission that will oversee the disarmament and PKK’s transition into democratic politics.

The PKK, locked in conflict with the Turkish state and outlawed since 1984, decided in May to disband, disarm, and end its separatist struggle after a public call to do so from its long-imprisoned leader Abdullah Ocalan.

After a series of failed peace efforts, the new initiative could pave the way for Ankara to end an insurgency that has killed over 40,000 people, burdened the economy, and wrought deep social and political divisions in Turkey and the wider region.