Kurdish separatist fighters in Iraq begin laying down weapons as part of peace process with Turkey

SULAYMANIYAH, Iraq — Fighters with a Kurdish separatist militant group that has waged a decades-long insurgency in Turkey began laying down their weapons in a symbolic ceremony on Friday in northern Iraq, the first concrete step toward a promised disarmament as part of a peace process.

The Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, announced in May that it would disband and renounce armed conflict, ending four decades of hostilities. The move came after PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan, who has been imprisoned on an island near Istanbul since 1999, urged his group in February to convene a congress and formally disband and disarm.

Öcalan renewed his call in a video message broadcast Wednesday, saying, ''I believe in the power of politics and social peace, not weapons.''

Dozens of fighters took part in a ceremony

Most journalists were not allowed at the site of Friday's ceremony.

The PKK issued a statement from the fighters laying down their weapons, who called themselves the ''Peace and Democratic Society Group,'' saying that they had disarmed ''as a gesture of goodwill and a commitment to the practical success'' of the peace process.

''We will henceforth continue our struggle for freedom, democracy, and socialism through democratic politics and legal means,'' the statement said.

The ceremony took place in the mountains outside the city of Sulaymaniyah in northern Iraq's semiautonomous Kurdish region. The state-run Iraqi News Agency reported that ''the process will take place in stages, with a group of party members initially laying down their weapons symbolically.'' The disarmament process is expected to be completed by September, the agency reported.

An Iraqi Kurdish political official said about 30 fighters took part in the ceremony, in the presence of a representative of the Turkish intelligence service and representatives of the Kurdish regional government, Iraq's Patriotic Union of Kurdistan party and the Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party, a pro-Kurdish party in Turkey. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly.

Turkish Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmus said the initial disarmament step had proceeded ''as planned,'' but cautioned that the process was far from complete.

''There's still a long way to go in collecting many more weapons,'' Kurtulmus said. ''What matters is ending the armed era in a way that ensures weapons are never taken up again.''

The official noted that the Turkish parliament was close to setting up a commission to oversee the peace process.

Turkey welcomes the disarmament

In Turkey, Devlet Bahceli, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's nationalist ally who initiated the peace process, welcomed the development.

''Starting today, members of the separatist terrorist organization have begun surrendering their weapons in groups, marking historic developments that signal the end of a dark era,'' Bahceli said in a written statement. ''These are exceptionally important days for both Turkey and our region.''

Bahceli, who has traditionally maintained a hard-line stance against the PKK, had surprised everyone in October, when he suggested in parliament that Öcalan could be granted parole if he renounced violence and disbanded the PKK.

The PKK has waged an armed insurgency against Turkey since 1984, initially with the aim of establishing a Kurdish state in the southeast of the country. Over time, the objective evolved into a campaign for autonomy and rights for Kurds within Turkey.

The conflict between militants and state forces, which has spread beyond Turkey's borders into Iraq and Syria, has killed tens of thousands of people. The PKK is considered to be a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.

Previous peace efforts between Turkey and the PKK have ended in failure - most recently in 2015 -- leading to the resurgence of violence.

The PKK has long maintained bases in the mountains of northern Iraq, where Turkish forces have launched offensives and airstrikes and have set up bases in the area. Last year, Iraq's government announced an official ban on the separatist group, which has long been prohibited in Turkey.

Scores of villages have emptied as a result of the violence. Displaced Kurdish Iraqis have voiced hopes that this peace process will finally allow them to go home.

Officials have spoken of a five-part peace process with the PKK, with the first phase being the political initiative launched by Bahceli, followed by Ocalan's message in February urging the PKK to abandon the armed struggle. The next two steps would focus on legal reintegration of the PKK fighters and long-term healing and reconciliation efforts.

PKK officials previously said that in order to continue the disarmament process, they want to see Turkey take steps to end ''the regime of isolation'' imposed on Öcalan in prison and to allow integration of former militants into the political system.

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Qassim Abdul-Zahra reported from Baghdad. Abby Sewell in Beirut, and Suzan Fraser in Ankara, Turkey, contributed to this report.