The Kurdish nationalist movement, which has waged an armed struggle for 47 years, has burned its weapons.
What has been burned is the Kurdish people’s hope for independence!
The burned weapons represent the armed liberation struggle of the oppressed and exploited peoples of the world!
While imperialists and their collaborators all over the world allocate trillions of dollars for armaments against the people, to dissolve the guerrilla and burn the weapons in the name of “social peace” and “democratic politics” is the greatest betrayal of the people!
The Kurdish nationalist movement, which launched a guerrilla war for Kurdish independence, is not only burning its weapons; it is collaborating with the fascism of turkey, against which it fought for 47 years, and with imperialism, the arch-enemy of the peoples of the world, to spill the blood of the peoples of the middle east!
The burning of weapons by the Kurdish nationalist movement is an ideological attack on the armed liberation struggle of the peoples!
Under the guise of “social peace” and “democratic politics,” collaboration with imperialism and Turkish fascism continues!
The Kurdish nationalist movement has burned the weapons of the guerrilla who took up arms 47 years ago for an “independent Kurdistan”!
They are ready and willing to serve the US imperialist project to redesign the middle east!
Just like in Syria, all kinds of imperialist weapons are at their disposal!
The Kurdish nationalists have no issue with using weapons when it comes to serving imperialism!
US imperialism has deemed a “neo-Ottoman order” fit for the middle east!
The ottoman order is about Turks, Kurds, and Arabs jointly collaborating with imperialism.
Fascist Erdoğan speaks of a “Turk-Kurd-Arab alliance from the great wall of China to the Adriatic”!
The leader of the Kurdish nationalist movement, Ocalan, speaks of “from the Balkans to the middle east and the Caucasus”!
Their collaboration with US imperialism will go only as far as US imperialism allows!
This alliance, built on the blood of the peoples of the Middle East, is the “new ottoman order” proposed by US imperialism!
Nationalism is a bourgeois ideology! It cannot lead peoples to liberation; nationalism is a dead end!
Turkish, Kurdish, Arab, Laz, Circassian, Georgian… our people, do not be poisoned by the toxin of nationalism!
The oppressed and exploited peoples of the world are brothers and sisters!
It is the interests of imperialist monopolies that pit peoples against one another, that cause them to slaughter each other!
We have not a single drop of blood to spill for the interests of imperialist monopolies!
Turkish and Kurdish nationalism have reconciled in their collaboration with imperialism…
Turkish, Kurdish, Arab, Laz, Circassian, Georgian… the peoples of Anatolia… let us unite, fight, and win against imperialism and its collaborators!
On February 27, 2025, the leader of the Kurdish nationalist movement, Abdullah Öcalan, called for the dissolution of the PKK.
Following this call, during its 12th Congress, the PKK announced its decision to disband, abandon its arms, and dissolve itself.
In a letter dated June 19, 2025, Öcalan wrote to the PKK urging disarmament:
“The PKK movement, based on denial of existence and the goal of establishing a separate state, and its national liberation war strategy have been brought to an end. Existence has been acknowledged, and therefore the primary objective has been achieved. Its time has passed in this sense. The rest is excessive repetition and a deadlock.”
The Kurdish nationalist movement PKK, which launched an armed struggle in 1978 with the goal of an independent Kurdistan, abandoned this aim, thereby rendering its reason for war null and void. Since the early 1990s, the Kurdish nationalist movement used armed struggle as a tool to negotiate with the oligarchic fascist state.
However, throughout these years, it strung along the Kurdish people, its cadres, and fighters under the pretence of “tactics.” In truth, the Kurdish nationalist movement has been experiencing “excessive repetition and deadlock” since its first ceasefire.
Öcalan sought a solution to the deadlock of nationalism by dismantling the armed struggle and compromising with imperialism and the oligarchic fascist state.
He stated:
“Achieving the goal of Peace and Democratic Society depends on everyone fulfilling their responsibilities, through a positive integrationist perspective.
The conclusion drawn from all this is: The PKK has abandoned its goal of a nation-state, and with that, has also abandoned its main war strategy, and has brought its existence to an end. It is expected that this historic moment will be taken even further.”
But what lies “further” is complete submission to imperialism, collaboration, and entering into its service. This is exactly what is happening today.
Öcalan further declared:
“It should be seen as natural that you ensure the abandonment of weapons in a way that will be meaningful both for the Grand National Assembly of Turkey and the commission, and that will address public doubts and fulfil our word.
Establishing a disarmament mechanism will move the process forward. What is happening is a voluntary transition from the stage of armed struggle to the stage of democratic politics and law. This must not be seen as a loss, but as a historical gain. The details regarding disarmament will be determined and implemented swiftly.”
The Ceremony: Weapons Burned in Sulaymaniyah
On July 11, 2025, in front of the Casene Cave in Sulaymaniyah, within the Iraqi Kurdish Regional Government territory, a symbolic ceremony took place.
15 women, 30 guerrillas in total, placed their weapons and ammunition belts into a specially prepared container, poured gasoline on them, and set them on fire.
The weapon burning was not broadcast live on TV due to security concerns. Journalists who came to watch were held at a distance. After the ceremony, images shot by MIT (Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization) and state media were released to the world press.
A 30-person PKK guerrilla group symbolically descended from the mountain with their weapons, placed them into a specially prepared container in front of visiting delegations from various countries, set them on fire, and then climbed back up the mountain unarmed.
The symbolic harm done to the people’s struggle by this ceremony is far greater.
PKK Leaders Speak
PKK executive and KCK Co-Chair Besê Hozat, speaking on behalf of the disarming guerrillas, said:
“As a gesture of goodwill and determination toward the practical success of the peace and democratic society process, and with the aim of continuing our struggle for freedom, democracy, and socialism through democratic politics and law, and based on the enactment of democratic integration laws, we are destroying our weapons before you with our free will.”
A 30-person guerrilla group symbolically set their weapons on fire.
The disarmament will continue as a process.
What’s “Historic” Is the Betrayal!
The concepts of “historic” surrender and collaboration are being disguised as a magical narrative.
Öcalan used the word “historic” 11 times in his one-page letter to the PKK calling for disarmament.
Everything related to surrender and collaboration is being masked with this term.
Yes, if one speaks of historicity, it is the historicity of betrayal and collaboration with the enemies of the people.
As guerrillas set fire to their weapons and returned to the mountain unarmed, their security was ensured by special operations teams with covered faces and U.S. private security units bearing the American flag on their shoulders.
Fatih Polat, columnist for the newspaper Evrensel, described the scene:
“As we approached the ceremony site, masked special forces were seen at various points, and one security officer with a U.S. flag on his shoulder caught our attention. Let’s also add that today, here, it was as if ‘all the spies of the world’ were united discreetly.”
(Fatih Polat, Evrensel, 12.07.2025)
“THE FOUNDING LEADER KEPT HIS WORD”
After the disarmament ceremony, MHP Chairman Devlet Bahçeli said:
“The PKK kept its word. The DEM Party showed responsible and prudent politics in this process. These developments are a milestone and a source of relief.”
Bahçeli, who for years spoke of Öcalan only with insults like “baby killer,” “terrorist leader,” and calls for execution, suddenly began to praise Öcalan.
Kurdish nationalists reciprocated: the name of Hakkari Boulevard in Şırnak was changed to Devlet Bahçeli Boulevard. MHP’s Şırnak branch issued a thank-you message about it.
BURNING THE WEAPONS IS A HISTORIC BETRAYAL
TO THE KURDISH PEOPLE AND THE PEOPLES OF THE WORLD
Armed struggle and people’s war are the only path to liberation from imperialist occupations and fascist regimes.
Despite all its distortions, the Kurdish nationalist movement became a recognized force among the Kurdish people because of its insistence on armed struggle.
But a petty bourgeois leadership, with its nationalist ideology, cannot bring liberation to the peoples. Everything the Kurdish nationalist movement has achieved so far, despite its flaws, was won thanks to guerrilla warfare.
However, instead of analysing its stagnation through its petty bourgeois ideology, the movement sought to resolve it by abandoning the armed struggle.
While Imperialists Arm Themselves, Disarming the People is Treason
As imperialist states continue to heavily arm themselves, allocating trillions of dollars annually for weaponry, calling on oppressed peoples to disarm, to dissolve their armed forces, and to throw their weapons into the fire is a clear act of betrayal.
What’s burned is not just a few weapons— what’s burned is the hope of liberation for the peoples. People’s liberation wars against imperialism and fascist regimes are being thrown into the fire.
Taking weapons from guerrillas and burning them means:
“Never take up arms, never go to the mountains, never wage guerrilla warfare against imperialism and fascist regimes.”
Yet people’s wars have historically been more effective against imperialism than atomic bombs.
From Asia to Africa, dozens of nations gained independence through liberation wars.
By burning its weapons, the Kurdish nationalist movement is effectively telling the peoples of the world:
“Don’t fight against imperialism, don’t take up arms, don’t resist—just surrender.”
Collaboration in Place of Revolution
Since the collapse of the socialist bloc, the Kurdish nationalist movement has leaned on imperialist powers, seeking salvation not in the Kurdish people but in the approval of imperialism. To reach a compromise with the oligarchy, it always relied on imperialist support.
After Öcalan’s arrest, he declared that he would serve imperialist interests in the region.
In his Imrali defenses, Öcalan even dreamed of restoring the Ottoman Empire’s old glory from the Balkans to the Caucasus by merging with the oligarchic fascist state. Since the 1993 ceasefire, guerrilla war has been used merely as a bargaining chip. Even so, it has remained a symbol of hope for the people, a shelter against fascism.
Now, the Kurdish nationalist movement has burned the hopes of the Kurdish people.
They have demolished the safe haven against oppression.
During the disarmament ceremony, PKK spokesperson Bese Hozat said:
“From now on, we will carry out our struggle for freedom, democracy, and socialism through democratic politics and law, based on the enactment of laws for democratic integration. We are destroying our weapons with our free will before you.”
But how will you fight for freedom using politics and law under the fascist AKP-MHP regime, where not even the letter “D” of democracy exists, where the law is a tool of terror against the people, and where the entire country has become a prison for the masses?
When fascism tolerates not even dissent within the system, with whom and how will you achieve this “integration”?
SPEAKING OF SOCIALISM WHILE COLLABORATING WITH IMPERIALISM AND FASCISM IS NOT INNOCENT!
Especially considering that the Kurdish nationalist movement has been cursing socialism since the early 1990s in an effort to get closer to imperialism—
Now, in the same statement where they announce the dismantling of the armed struggle and the burning of weapons, they suddenly speak of a “struggle for socialism.”
This is not innocent.
While collaborating with imperialism and fascism, they cling even more tightly to socialist rhetoric—in an attempt to co-opt the peoples’ liberation struggle and put it at the service of imperialism and fascism.
One cannot be socialist without being anti-imperialist and anti-fascist. To speak of socialism after collaborating with the fascist regime that has spilled the blood of tens of thousands of our people—To call the events in Syria the “Rojava Revolution” while turning the Kurdish people and the opportunist left into the ground troops of the U.S.—
And today, while burning the weapons of the guerrilla, which is the hope of liberation for the people, to again speak of socialism—
This is, first of all, an attempt to mask betrayal, and second, an attempt to draw socialists into the service of fascism.
THE PKK HAS DENIED THE MOST FUNDAMENTAL POLITICAL CRITERIA THAT MAKE THE LEFT, LEFT;
IT HAS REJECTED THE MOST BASIC PRINCIPLES OF THE LEFT; IT HAS VIOLATED THE CORE VALUES OF THE LEFT. NOT A HISTORICAL TURK-KURD-ARAB ALLIANCE, BUT COLLABORATION WITH IMPERIALISM
President Tayyip Erdoğan, in all his recent speeches, frequently mentions a “Turk-Kurd-Arab” alliance.
Following Öcalan’s video message from İmralı Island calling for disarmament, Erdoğan claims to be writing a history of collaboration by saying, “From Malazgirt to the Victory of Çanakkale and the War of Independence, all were common struggles of Turks, Kurds, Arabs, and many other Muslim peoples.”
Unable to contain himself, after the collapse of the socialist system, the imperialists used the Turkish oligarchy and the followers of Fethullah Gülen to exploit the Turkic Republics. At the time, Süleyman Demirel, trying to cover up this collaboration, would bellow, “From the Great Wall of China to the Adriatic, it will be Turkish.” Today, Erdoğan is doing the same. He says they will dominate “from the Great Wall of China to the Adriatic” with a Turkish-Kurdish-Arab alliance.
All of this is a mask for collaboration.
In his speech after the PKK’s disarmament spectacle, Erdoğan said:
“The AK Party, MHP, and DEM — at least we three have decided to walk this path together,” tying the process to a Turk-Kurd-Arab conquest alliance.
He added, “Both Damascus and Istanbul are our common cities.”
This is not a Turkish-Kurdish-Arab alliance — it is a collaboration of imperialism’s partners in the Middle East.
Turkish fascism, Kurdish nationalism, and HTS (Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham) are all ready to serve wherever the imperialists assign them in their operations against the peoples of the Middle East.
This is the essence of their alliance.
Indeed, the first Abdullah Öcalan Academy was opened in Africa.
Don’t ask what the Kurdish nationalist movement is doing in Africa — it’s not them who have a mission there, it’s the U.S.
The U.S. Congress has allocated $130 million to the SDF (Syrian Democratic Forces).
Not a single cent of this money can be spent on anything that does not serve U.S. interests.
Where will it be spent?
Wherever there’s a military need, especially against Iran — that’s where it will go.
What is the U.S. saying to the PKK?
“You are my servant in the Middle East, the Turkic Republics, and Africa.
I will use you there.”
Under the banner of “peace,” the U.S. is organizing a new war. In the name of disarmament, it is transferring fighters to new fronts. PKK is now SDF for the U.S.
The weapons that are being burned were meant for the people’s struggle. But the region has been turned into an arms depot for imperialist interests. Hundreds of millions of dollars in weapons now await users to slaughter the peoples of the Middle East. There are no limits on weapons that will be used to serve the interests of U.S.-EU imperialism and Israel.
PKK’S DISARMAMENT IS NOT BECAUSE OF ÖCALAN’S CALL—IT IS A NECESSARY ALLIANCE FOR U.S. IMPERIALISM
The Turkish fascist state, Kurdish nationalists, and HTS are all U.S. collaborators. Their very existence depends on collaboration with the U.S. The Turkish state has been one of the U.S.’s top collaborators since the 1950s.
The Kurdish nationalist movement, since the 1990s, has leaned entirely on imperialism—
Begging the U.S. for a role: “Why aren’t you using us?”
Indeed, to help occupy Syria, it became the ground army of the U.S.
HTS, for its part, owes both its rise to power and continued existence entirely to the U.S.
Just one year ago, these three forces were seen as fundamentally irreconcilable.
Now, U.S. interests have brought them together.
The glue uniting them is the U.S.’s Greater Middle East Project.
AS THE U.S. RESTRUCTURES THE MIDDLE EAST, IT IS ASSIGNING NEW ROLES TO THE PKK
Through the Rojava process, the Kurdish nationalist movement came fully under U.S. control. The PKK’s disarmament and dissolution inside Turkey was necessary— Because an armed PKK was an obstacle to the Turkish oligarchy. Now, the PKK has essentially become PYD-YPG, functioning as the U.S.’s ground force.
The physical existence of the PKK was no longer desirable. Therefore, its dismantling was directly imposed by the U.S. The PKK has had no serious military action against Turkish fascism for years. For full collaboration with the Turkish state, the PKK’s removal was necessary.
And now, the Kurdish nationalist movement is ready to be used in Syria, Iran, and throughout the region— In line with the interests of the U.S. and Israel.
THE “OTTOMAN ORDER” IS A U.S. POLICY FOR THE MIDDLE EAST
U.S. Ambassador to Ankara Tom Barrack has publicly suggested the Ottoman system as a model for the Middle East. Erdoğan dreams of reviving the Ottoman system through a “Turkish-Kurdish-Arab” alliance, which he often calls “our noble ancestors.”
The last 200 years of the Ottoman Empire in the Middle East were spent serving British interests—
Now, Erdoğan is seeking to secure his power as a U.S. collaborator.
That is the true nature of the modern Ottoman dream.
U.S. AND EU IMPERIALISM AIM TO DESTROY IRAN
As part of the Greater Middle East Project, the U.S. announced it would redraw the borders of 22 countries.
Groups like SDG and HTS are products of this project. After the fall of Assad in Syria, the next target is Iran. The U.S. wants to reorganize the Middle East based on Israeli security concerns.
Today, Iran is the only regional power that refuses to submit to this imperialist plan.
The so-called “Turkish-Kurdish-Arab alliance” is not a historical alliance or a brotherhood. It is a strategic tool of imperialism.
As the U.S. tries to push Palestinians out of Gaza, it also aims to disarm Hezbollah in Lebanon. Ambassador Tom Barrack—also the U.S. special envoy to Syria—travels the region like a colonial governor, trying to reconcile groups like SDG and HTS.
He was recently in Beirut pushing a “Hezbollah disarmament plan.”
But Lebanese officials pushed back, essentially saying: “Israeli withdrawal and the transfer of weapons to the state must happen simultaneously.”
The U.S. and Israel believed they could bring down the Iranian regime within days.
But Iran resisted all imperialist attacks—And made Israel regret launching its assault.
PJAK EXPECTS OPEN SUPPORT FROM THE U.S. AND ISRAEL AGAINST IRAN
Hüseyin Yazdan Banah, the leader of PJAK (the Iranian wing of the PKK), declared that in the event of a potential Israel-Iran war, they would support Israel and are ready to participate in the conflict. Speaking clearly, Yazdan Banah said, “We are ready to take part in an attack on Iran. We will do whatever is necessary to secure our dominance in the region.”
This statement marks the first explicit message that PJAK may take the side of Israel. The organization claimed that, as part of their new strategies, they are closely following regional developments and have the capacity to adapt to shifting dynamics.
PJAK’s declaration shows that Kurdish nationalists in Iran are openly seeking a role from the U.S. and Israel in a potential operation against Iran.
TO KURDISH NATIONALISTS: WE NEVER PROMISED YOU A STATE
At a conference in New York, U.S. Ambassador to Ankara Tom Barrack responded to a question about the SDF and the Kurds by saying:
“We did not expect the Assad regime to return to Damascus in December. The Druze want their region to be Druze land. The Alawites want Alawite land. The Kurds want it to be Kurdistan. But what Damascus is saying is: That’s not going to happen. All roads lead to Damascus. One country, one nation, one army. We do not owe them the right to establish their own independent government within a government. What we owe is to ensure a transition to a new regime that provides a reasonable path for how they will integrate into a single Syrian government. Syria has taken a position: there will be no Syria under federalism. We will bring you together, mediate, arbitrate, and help—but we will not stay here forever. If you choose not to participate, then don’t. But we will not remain your caretaker or mediator indefinitely.”
The U.S. uses its collaborators only as long as it serves its interests and discards them once their role is complete.
In imperialist collaborations, the subordinate party cannot make demands based on its own interests. They are only supported as long as their demands align with their master’s agenda. That’s what the U.S. says to the Kurdish nationalist movement:
“You exist for me, not the other way around.
As long as you serve my interests in the Middle East, the Turkic republics, and Africa, you may continue to exist as my collaborator.
You are my servant in these regions, and I will use you there…”
Throughout history, the Kurdish people have suffered many betrayals—And each betrayal has led to the massacres of thousands, even tens of thousands of Kurds. Now, the Kurdish nationalist leadership, which has turned its back on the people and tied its fate to imperialism, is playing with the future of the Kurdish people.
They are sacrificing the Kurdish people’s destiny for the benefit of U.S., EU, and Israeli imperialism.
No people has ever achieved liberation by relying on imperialists.
THE TURKISH AND KURDISH PEOPLES WILL NOT PARTAKE IN THIS COLLABORATION—
THEY WILL WALK THE PATH TO LIBERATION BY REJECTING IT
The development and actions of the PKK are not only an internal matter for the Kurdish people or the PKK itself. From the beginning, we have not seen it that way.
The destinies of the Turkish and Kurdish peoples are so closely intertwined that every positive or negative development affects the liberation struggles of both peoples. That is why, for over 40 years, we have conducted ideological struggle to push the PKK away from nationalist lines and toward a revolutionary path.
We said and wrote that deepening nationalism leads to submission—
That it would throw the movement into the worst outcomes. Today, the inevitable result of the dead-end of nationalism is playing out. Nationalism has reached its logical and political conclusions.
In cooperation with the Turkish oligarchy, and as its military partner, the PKK is part of the policy to expand into the Balkans, Caucasus, Central Asia, and the Middle East—carried out in alliance with the U.S.
The fate of the Kurdish people cannot be left to U.S. collaborators.
The Kurdish people must follow the path of national and social liberation under revolutionary leadership. No one can turn back the course of history.
Let everyone understand this well:
Especially those who tail after the PKK and still claim to be leftist or revolutionary—
The fundamental criterion of being leftist is to be anti-imperialist and anti-fascist.
Those who tail the Kurdish nationalist movement and align themselves with imperialist policies lose all claim to being on the left.
If we want an independent, democratic, socialist country—
If we want a classless, exploitation-free world—
Then the only path for the Kurdish and Turkish peoples, and for all the peoples of Anatolia, is:
JOINT STRUGGLE, JOINT POWER
Our peoples—Turks, Kurds, Arabs, Georgians, Circassians, Laz, Bosnians, Terekemes, Roma, Abkhazians—will unite under the leadership of the Revolutionary Movement and establish Revolutionary People’s Power in Anatolia.
WE WILL FIGHT TOGETHER; WE WILL WIN TOGETHER!
IN CONCLUSION:
- The Kurdish nationalist movement’s dissolution of the PKK and burning of weapons means abandoning weapons that were a symbol of hope for the Kurdish people.
They have tied the fate of the Kurdish people to imperialist interests and are trying to make Kurds collaborators of the U.S.-EU and Israel.
- The so-called “historic” process that the Kurdish nationalists cling to has no historical significance for the Kurdish people.
It is a process of submission, liquidation, and collaboration.
Since the end of the trench warfare phase, the PKK has not engaged in any serious military activity and its continued existence has obstructed reconciliation between the Kurdish movement and the Turkish oligarchy.
The crisis of governance under AKP fascism and developments in the Middle East have created the most suitable environment for this liquidation and collaboration.
- Under the guise of “social peace and democratic politics,” the guerrilla forces in Turkey are being disarmed and dismantled, because the weapons held by the guerrilla are obstacles to collaborating with Turkish fascism.
- While disarming the PKK to collaborate with Turkish fascism, the Kurdish nationalist movement has transformed in Syria into a YPG army of 80,000 fighters using U.S. weapons. They are now guardians of U.S. interests in Syria.
- Their slogans of “Social Peace, Democratic Politics” are nothing more than the demagoguery of collaboration. They tried to legitimize U.S. collaboration in Syria under the name of the “Rojava Revolution.” Now, they are trying to legitimize collaboration with Turkish fascism and the dismantling of armed struggle in Turkey with the same rhetoric. In reality, this is all about serving imperialism in Syria, Iran, and the entire Middle East. It is about making the Kurdish people servants of imperialism and Israel.
- No “Social Peace” or “Democratic Politics” can be achieved through collaboration with imperialism. This is nothing more than a process of resuscitating the AKP fascism, which is at rock bottom. AKP fascism will stop at nothing to stay in power.
The alliance between AKP, MHP, and the DEM Party is the clearest proof of this.
- The true architect of the alliance between AKP, MHP, and the DEM Party is the U.S.
They were brought together under the umbrella of the Greater Middle East Project.
This process will unfold in whatever way U.S. Middle East policy requires.
- If Israel’s attack on Iran had succeeded in sparking internal uprisings and overthrowing the regime, both Kurdish nationalists and Turkish fascism would have had major roles to play. But they failed. The Iranian extension of the Kurdish nationalist movement, PJAK, is now watching closely, waiting for Israel or the U.S. to assign them a task.
- But Middle East politics never follow a straight line. Interests and power balances shift constantly. And no policy that disregards the will of the people can ever succeed. The imperialists could not make Iran kneel using the Israeli proxy. Now they must restructure their policies accordingly.
- The Turkish and Kurdish peoples will not accept collaboration with imperialism.
U.S.-EU imperialism is the murderer of the world’s peoples. Israel is the bloody dagger of U.S.-EU imperialism stabbed into the heart of the Middle East. The people of Anatolia will not become partners in the crimes of imperialism.
