ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Villagers in Turkey’s Kurdish province of Dersim (Tunceli) said they are unable to return to their homes after nearly four decades of displacement despite receiving greenlight from Turkish authorities, citing the absence of proper routes and services.
“We were all forced to leave... I was only able to visit two or three times, and after that, I couldn't set foot there again,” Alisan Donmez, a resident of Boli village, told Rudaw.
He added, “We want our road to be rebuilt so that everyone can return to their homes and livelihoods, produce their own honey, and plant their own orchards. Our only demand is peace and the chance to return.”
The village was evacuated in 1987 amid the escalating conflict between Ankara and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
Both sides have engaged in peace talks since February 2025, when the PKK's jailed leader, Abdullah Ocalan, called on his followers to dissolve the party he founded and lay down arms. The party's leadership responded positively, announcing a shift from armed struggle toward a political path to secure Kurdish rights.
The negotiations are experiencing a legislative and institutional stalemate, as Ankara demands the full disarmament of the PKK to proceed with the promised legal and constitutional recognition of Kurdish rights. Meanwhile, the PKK and Kurdish politicians in Turkey view the demand with skepticism and accuse Ankara of not making any notable step in the peace process.
Nevertheless, the talks have ended the clashes, enabling the residents of a number of previously evacuated villages to return. However, the lack of routes as well damaged and old critical infrastructure impede their return.
Perihan Donmez, another villager from Boli, said, “We have no road, we have no water. They tell us, 'go and settle in your village,' but how can we settle there without a road? Let there be a road, so that we can take our belongings."
Between early 1980s to mid-1990s, the Turkish military destroyed nearly 2,400 villages in Kurdish areas. This led to the displacement of 2.5 to three million Kurds in south and eastern Turkey, based on a 1996 report by the Habitat International Coalition, a global network of rights related to habitat.
