ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The majority of the Turkish public supports ongoing efforts for peace with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) ahead of an anticipated disarmament of a first group of PKK fighters, according to a pollster.
“Around 65 percent of the Turkish public supports this process,” Roj Girasun, director of the Rawest Research polling company, told Rudaw on Saturday.
While the Turkish people support the peace process, 42 percent have doubts it will come to fruition. They “do not trust the PKK to surrender its weapons,” he said.
A group of PKK fighters will disarm in early July, launching the practical steps of implementing the group’s decision to dissolve and end its armed struggle against the Turkish state.
The PKK announced its dissolution in May, in response to a February call by its jailed leader Abdullah Ocalan to end the conflict that has claimed around 40,000 lives and pursue a political path to securing Kurdish political and cultural rights.
While Turkey has welcomed the PKK’s decision, it has emphasized the need for taking concrete steps towards total disarmament. Meanwhile, the PKK expects Ankara to introduce democratic reforms.
At the disarmament ceremony in Sulaimani, PKK fighters will destroy their weapons rather than hand them over to any other authority, Rudaw has learned.
“If the disarmament process is conducted in an exemplary manner and is made public, this will motivate politicians to take faster action,” Girasun said.
He noted that support for the peace process amongst Kurds is much higher - 90 percent - than it is with Turks.
Founded in 1978, the PKK initially sought an independent Kurdish state but later shifted its focus toward achieving broader political and cultural rights for Kurds in Turkey. The group has been labeled a terrorist organization by Ankara and its allies.
Nalin Hassan contributed to this report.