Al -Jazeera Net Correspondents
Ankara, Baghdad- In the coming days, Türkiye is awaiting the launch of a historic step to hand over the Kurdistan Workers’ Party fighters their weapons in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, which raises hopes for an end to an armed conflict that lasted decades.
These developments come in conjunction with the visit of the head of the Turkish Intelligence Service Ibrahim Qalan to Baghdad today, Tuesday, with the aim of coordinating with the Iraqi authorities regarding the arrangements of the operation and ensuring its success, after a visit he conducted to Erbil early this month.
Turkish and Kurdish security sources reported that the first group of party fighters – who numbered between 20 and 30 – will hand over their weapons next Friday in the Rabreen area of the city of Rania in Sulaymaniyah Governorate, in the presence of representatives of Kurdish parties and civil society organizations. She added that the delivery operations will continue until the end of this year, in implementation of the invitation of the leader of the imprisoned party Abdullah Ocalan to resolve the organization and abandon the weapon.
Security tour
They said talks with both the Iraqi Prime Minister and the President of the Republic, focusing on arrangements to hand over the Kurdistan Workers Party fighters their weapons.
According to press reports, Baghdad’s visit targeted the completion of coordination on the steps of disarmament, as part of the Ankara announced initiative to achieve “Turkey free of terrorism”, amid questions about the level of cooperation required between Baghdad and Erbil to make this process a success.
The Iraqi side was satisfied with issuing a brief statement saying, “The Prime Minister Muhammad Shi’a Al -Sudani received, on Tuesday, the head of the Turkish intelligence service, Ibrahim Qalman, and the accompanying delegation.
They had visited Erbil in early July, when the senior leaders of the region met, including President Nechirvan Barzani, and Prime Minister Masrur Barzani, in addition to the head of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, Masoud Barzani.
The talks focused on the developments of the regional scene, especially the repercussions of the Iranian -Israeli confrontation, the joint efforts to enhance security and stability in the region, as well as security cooperation files and measures to cleanse the borders of terrorist threats.
The Turkish delegation also stressed its support for Iraq and the need to empower them politically, stressing the importance of continuing coordination with the federal government in Baghdad and dialogue with the region’s authorities. The Anatolia Agency quoted the Kurdistan Workers’ Party call to immediately adhere to the decision to throw weapons “without any political maneuver”, in an effort to accelerate the implementation of the understandings reached with the parties concerned.
Joint coordination
In the context, the former head of the Turkish Air Force Intelligence Service, Gorses Tekkakoglu, said that Iraq was facing a major security threat due to the activity of the Kurdistan Workers Party, whether at the level of the central government in Baghdad or the Kurdistan region authorities in the north of the country.
He explained to Al -Jazeera Net that “the main problem is the presence of the party, but there are also groups and other interests that seek to destabilize Iraq.” He pointed out that the recent period witnessed serious moves towards ending the activities of the armed party, but pointed out that the procedures related to this process were not planned completely within the framework of coordinated and joint cooperation between the parties concerned.
“Today, the Turkish Intelligence Service plays a pivotal role in ensuring this coordination, especially with regard to arrangements to hand over the militants, dealing with weapons, and legal issues, in addition to the efforts made to establish stability in the border areas.” He said that working on these files has made tangible progress, and that there are unremitting efforts to end the threats and secure permanent stability for the region.
The PKK file and its weapon removed the most important file at the discussion table between Ankara and Baghdad, in light of Turkish attempts to ensure the support of the Iraqi government and the Kurdistan region of this step.
In a related context, a spokesman for the prime minister of the region, Bishua Huramani, stressed in a statement to Al -Jazeera Net, that “the region’s government has a positive and clear role in this process, and it has always stressed the necessity of resolving the dispute between Türkiye and the party in peaceful ways.”
Huramani added that from the beginning, the region supports these efforts, calling on the two sides to dialogue and end the conflict in democratic ways that guarantee the Kurds in Turkey to reach their legitimate rights, and keep the region away from the useless armed conflicts. He also expressed the region’s readiness to play any role or responsibility that contributes to the success of this process.
Goodwill
In a move that raised questions, the ceremony was scheduled to be open to all media professionals, after the party published a form in which he called on journalists to register their names to participate, but he returned and retreated yesterday evening from this arrangement, announcing the palace of the attendees on its media channels and preventing the live broadcast, under the pretext of “security conditions.”
Sources from within the systems of the Kurdistan society (KKK) – the party and administrative body of the party – reported to Al -Jazeera Net that the delivery ceremony will include a voice or photographer from the leader of the arrested party Abdullah Ocalan. But due to the lack of clarity of the content of the message, and the fear of leaking what the party does not want to publish, it was decided to exclude journalists from coverage.
For his part, the expert in the Turkish Kurdish affairs, Kamal Raouf, said, in his interview with Al -Jazeera Net, that a visit to Baghdad and Erbil aimed to ensure that the two governments are committed to support the operation and not allow it to be hindered. He described the upcoming delivery ceremony as “a good and symbolic gesture to show the party’s seriousness in front of public opinion,” but he warned that the party will not take a step that has resolved itself completely unless it was accompanied by positive and tangible steps from the Turkish government.
These developments come within a broader path that included the visit of a delegation from the Popular and Democratic Equality Party to Ocalan, and the meeting of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan Kurdish leaders, as well as the recent security and diplomatic moves of the head of Turkish intelligence, which reflects – according to observers – indicators of a possible transformation in the path of the peace process between Ankara and the PKK.
