In a period when the Turkish state carried out lawless and boundless attacks against both the people and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), the hope and call for peace that endured despite the violence has once more returned to the agenda, echoing the same expressions of the past. Today’s reality marks the victory of a movement that has always shown the path to a peaceful solution, while the side that insisted on war has finally come to the negotiating table long pointed to by Abdullah Öcalan.
Ceasefire and peace calls met with massacres
Ceasefire and political solution proposals made periodically by the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) since 1993 were persistently ignored by the Turkish state. The insistence on war continued relentlessly. In every region of Kurdistan, large-scale military operations and massacres were carried out. Racist and fascist attacks were organized against the Kurdish population living in Turkey. Thousands of people were killed both in the assaults of the Turkish state and in attacks by civilian fascist mercenaries. Villagers were thrown into acid wells, disappeared under custody, or beaten to death in prisons. Guerrilla zones were targeted with chemical weapons. The most extensive chemical attack on guerrillas during that period took place on 16 May 1994 in the Bezar Mountains, where six guerrillas and twenty-two students who intended to join the Kurdish People’s Liberation Army (ARGK) were killed with chemical weapons.
After the end of the ceasefire periods between 1993 and 1995, Abdullah Öcalan, in an interview with Ertuğrul Kürkçü from Özgür Gündem newspaper, clearly stated that it was the state which rejected peace. Öcalan said: “Ceasefire is not something declared for no reason. It had very significant outcomes. As we saw the other side’s response, we approached it with great sensitivity. Yet they said we were surrendering or giving up the struggle. This is not how the matter should be seen. If there was a possibility for reconciliation, we were determined to seize it. We did seize it, but it was sabotaged by the other side through a conspiracy.”
Hundreds of operations, countless massacres
From its inception to the present day, the Kurdish Freedom Movement has consistently emphasized that its use of force has been a response to the aggressive actions of the other side. The Turkish state, however, chose not to pursue a peaceful solution. Instead, it carried out continuous operations targeting both Northern Kurdistan (Bakur) and areas where guerrilla forces were based. Beyond the attacks, operations, and massacres conducted within Turkey and Northern Kurdistan, the state repeatedly launched cross-border military campaigns into other parts of Kurdistan, which it defined as beyond its borders.
Some of the major cross-border operations include:
* 15 August 1986 – Southern Kurdistan (Başur)
* 4 March 1987 – Southern Kurdistan
* 5–13 August 1991 – Southern Kurdistan
* 30 August 1992 – Southern Kurdistan
* 5 October – 15 November 1992 – Southern Kurdistan
* 12 October – 5 November 1992 – Southern Kurdistan
* 13–19 August 1993 – Kirpi Operation
* 5 November 1993 – 28 January 1994 – Northern Iraq
* 6–13 November 1993 – Karyaderi Cross-Border Operation
* 27 January – 2 February 1994 – Alandüz Operation
* 16 March – 26 April 1994 – Ejder Operation
* 26 July – 3 August 1994 – Northern Iraq
* 20 March – 4 May 1995 – Çelik Operation
* 20–21 May 1995 – Jerma-Betkar Operation
* 23 March 1995 – Haftanin Raid
* 14 July 1996 – Tokat Operation
* 12 May – 7 July 1997 – Çekiç Operation
* 25 September – 15 October 1997 – Şafak Operation
* 21–29 February 2008 – Güneş Operation
* 24–25 July 2015 – Martyr Yalçın Operation
* 24 August 2016 – 29 March 2017 – Euphrates Shield Operation
* 25 April 2017 – Olive Branch Operation
* 19 March 2018 – 27 May 2019 – Tigris Shield Operation
* 15 August 2018 – Sinjar Operation
* 28 May 2019 – 14 July 2020 – Claw Operations
* 9 October – 25 November 2019 – Peace Spring Operation
* 15 June – 5 September 2020 – Claw-Eagle and Claw-Tiger Operations
* 10–14 February 2021 – Claw-Eagle 2 Operation
* 23 April 2021 (ongoing) – Claw-Lightning Operation
* November 2022 (ongoing) – Claw-Sword Air Operation
The Kurdish Freedom Movement periodically declared ceasefires, consistently affirming its determination to achieve peace and end the cycle of conflict. Despite these efforts, each call for dialogue was met with renewed attacks from the Turkish state. Throughout its history, the movement declared ceasefires or temporary suspensions of armed struggle in 1993, 1995, 1998, 1999, 2006, 2009, and 2013. The peace process that began in 2013 ultimately collapsed when the Justice and Development Party (AKP) sabotaged the process and resumed military operations. As a result, the Kurdish Freedom Movement continued its armed struggle until 27 February 2025, when a new call by Öcalan once again placed peace and dialogue at the center of the political agenda.