Helicopters hovered overhead, with dozens of Iraqi Kurdish security forces surrounding the mountainous area, a Reuters witness said.
Turkish and Iraqi intelligence figures attended the ceremony, as well as officials of Iraq’s Kurdistan regional government and senior members of Turkey’s pro-Kurdish DEM party, which also played a key role this year facilitating the PKK’s disarmament decision.
It was unclear when further handovers would take place.
A senior Turkish official said the arms handover marked an “irreversible turning point” in the peace process, while another government source said ensuing steps would include the legal reintegration of PKK members into society in Turkey and efforts to heal communities and promote reconciliation.
WIDER SIGNIFICANCE
The PKK has been based in northern Iraq after being pushed well beyond Turkey’s southeastern frontier in recent years. Turkey’s military carries out regular strikes on PKK bases in the region and has established several military outposts there.
The end of NATO member Turkey’s conflict with the PKK could have consequences across the region, including in neighbouring Syria, where the United States is allied with Syrian Kurdish forces that Ankara deems a PKK offshoot.
Washington and Ankara want those Kurds to quickly integrate with Syria’s security structure, which has been undergoing reconfiguration since the fall in December of autocratic President Bashar al-Assad. PKK disarmament could add to this pressure, analysts say.
The PKK, DEM and Ocalan have all called on Erdogan’s government to address Kurdish demands for more rights in regions where Kurds form a majority, particularly Turkey’s southeast, where the insurgency was concentrated.
In a rare online video published on Wednesday, Ocalan, whose large image was shown at the weapons ceremony, also urged Turkey’s parliament to set up a commission to oversee disarmament and manage the broader peace process.
Ankara has taken steps toward forming the commission, while the DEM and Ocalan have said that legal assurances and certain mechanisms were needed to smooth the PKK’s transition into democratic politics.
“TERROR-FREE TURKEY”
Omer Celik, spokesman for Erdogan’s AK Party, said the ceremony marked a first step toward full disarmament and a “terror-free Turkey”, adding this must be completed “in a short time”.
Erdogan has said the disarmament will enable the rebuilding of Turkey’s southeast.
Turkey spent nearly $1.8 trillion over the past five decades combating terrorism, Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek has said.
