The Solution process (), also known as the Peace process (; ) or the PKK–Turkish peace process, was a peace process that aimed to resolve the conflict between Turkey and the Kurdistan Workers' Party as part of the Kurdish–Turkish conflict (1978–2025). The conflict, which began in 1984, which has now ended as of 2025 and has resulted in over 40,000 mortal casualties and great economic losses for Turkey and its Kurdish majority southeastern areas as well as high damage to the general population.
Though there was a unilateral cease-fire between 1999 and 2004, the sides failed to gain understanding, and the conflict became increasingly violent. The 2013 truce was working until the truce fully collapsed in 2015, following the Ceylanpınar incidents, in which the PKK killed two Turkish policemen, accusing Turkey to have collaborated with the Islamic State (IS) in the Suruç bombing.
Background
The Turkey-PKK conflict is an armed conflict between the Republic of Turkey and people related to PKK, which have demanded freedom from Turkey to create an independent Kurdistan, or to have autonomy and greater political and cultural rights for Kurds inside the Republic of Turkey. The PKK is considered a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the United States,United States Department of State Foreign Terrorist Organizations and the European Union.European Union List of Terrorist Organisations , Council of the european union, updated Council Decision 2011/70/CFSP of 31 January 2011 Although insurgents have carried out attacks in many regions of Turkey, the insurgency is mainly in southeastern Turkey. The PKK's military presence in Iraq's Kurdistan Region, which it uses as launchpad for attacks on Turkey, has resulted in the Turkish military carrying out frequent ground incursions and air and artillery strikes in the region, as the Kurdistan Regional Government claimed they do not have sufficient military forces to prevent the PKK from operating. The conflict has particularly affected Turkey's tourism industryPKK: Targets and activities , Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Turkey), Federation of American Scientists. and has cost the economy of Turkey an estimated 300 to 450 billion dollars, mainly military expenses.Turkey: The PKK and a Kurdish settlement , September 11, 2012
Since the PKK was founded on November 27, 1978, it has been involved in armed clashes with Turkish security forces. The full-scale insurgency however, did not begin until August 15, 1984 when the PKK announced a Kurdish uprising. The first insurgency lasted until September 1, 1999 when the PKK declared a unilateral cease-fire. The armed conflict was later resumed on June 1, 2004, when the PKK declared an end to its cease-fire. Since summer 2011, the conflict has become increasingly violent with resumption of large-scale hostilities.
Developments In November 2012 about 10,000 prisoners were in a hunger strike and had the following three demands. They wanted to defend themselves in Kurdish language while being in court, the improvement of the detention conditions of Abdullah Öcalan, and the start of a peace process between Turkey and the PKK. The Academics for Peace actively supported those demands. On the 16 December the Chief of the National Intelligence Organization (MIT) Hakan Fidan held a talk with Abdullah Öcalan. On the 28 December 2012, Erdoğan made the meeting public and stated that the government was in negotiations with jailed rebel leader Öcalan. The negotiations were initially named the Solution Process (Çözüm Süreci) in public. While negotiations were going on, there were numerous events that were regarded as sabotage to derail the talks: The assassination of the PKK administrators Sakine Cansız, Fidan Doğan and Leyla Söylemez in Paris, revealing Öcalan's talks with the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) publicly via the Milliyet newspaper and finally, the bombings of the Justice Ministry of Turkey and Erdoğan's office at the Justice and Development Party (AKP) headquarters in Ankara. However, both parties vehemently condemned all three events as they occurred and stated that they were determined anyway. Finally on 21 March 2013, after months of negotiations with the Turkish Government, Abdullah Ocalan's message to the people was read both in Turkish and Kurdish during the Newroz celebrations in Diyarbakır. The letter called a cease-fire that included disarmament and withdrawal from Turkish soil and calling an end to armed struggle. PKK announced that they would obey, stating that the year of 2013 is the year of solution either through war or through peace. Erdoğan welcomed the letter stating that concrete steps will follow PKK's withdrawal.
On 25 April 2013, the PKK announced that it withdraws all its forces within Turkey to northern Iraq. According to the government and the Kurds and to most of the press, this move marks the end of a 30-year-old conflict. The second phase which includes constitutional and legal changes towards the recognition of human rights of the Kurds starts simultaneously with withdrawal.* Arin, Kubilay Yado, Turkey and the Kurds – From War to Reconciliation? UC Berkeley Center for Right Wing Studies Working Paper Series, March 26, 2015.https://www.academia.edu/11674094/Turkey_and_the_Kurds_From_War_to_Reconciliation
Wise people committee The government announced its long-awaited list of "wise men" on April 4, the members of a seven-region commission tasked with explaining the ongoing settlement process with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) to the public and promoting the negotiations. Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç announced the list of "wise people", several weeks after the government first announced plans to set up such a commission made up of intellectuals and well-liked public figures.
The list includes celebrities who are intellectuals, writers and academics as well as singers such as Orhan Gencebay. The commission is made up of groups organized on a regional basis, and will be active in seven regions across the country. On Tuesday, while mystery still shrouded the identities of the government's list of wise people, Erdoğan said, "We will listen to the views and suggestions of the people who are part of this delegation, consult with them and they will organize some events in [the country's] regions and get together with our citizens and local public opinion leaders." In a speech on March 23, the prime minister defined the role of the commission, saying they will be conducting a "psychological operation," indicating the wise people will act as public relations agents. In a speech he made in Ankara on March 23, Erdoğan stated, "It is important to prepare the public for this and social perceptions should be created by the wise men." He said only public acceptance can fend off nationalistic shows.
The Republican People's Party (CHP) and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) were critical of the wise men list, claiming that the people on the list are all supportive of the government. On April 5, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan met for the first time with members of the wise men commission. After five weeks of work, the Wise Persons committee gave its first report to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and shared their impressions on the level of support regarding the process. The meeting lasted over four hours.
Members of wise people committee classified by region:
Aegean Region Chairman: Tarhan Erdem Vice Chairman: Avni Özgürel Secretary: Arzuhan Doğan Yalçındağ Hasan Karaya Hilal Kaplan Fuat Keyman Fehmi Koru Baskın Oran
Black Sea Region Chairman: Yusuf Şevki Hakyemez Vice Chairman: Vedat Bilgin Secretary: Fatma Benli Şemsi Bayraktar Kürşat Bumin Oral Çalışlar Orhan Gencebay Yıldıray Oğur Bendevi Palandöken
Central Anatolia Region Chairman: Ahmet Taşgetiren Vice Chairman: Beril Dedeoğlu Secretary: Cemal Uşşak Vahap Coşkun Doğu Ergil Erol Göka Mustafa Kumlu Fadime Özkan Celalettin Can
Eastern Anatolia region Chairman: Can Paker Vice Chairman: Sibel Eraslan Secretary: Ayhan Ogan Mahmut Arslan Abdurrahman Dilipak İzzettin Doğan Abdurrahman Kurt Zübeyde Teker Mehmet Uçum
Marmara Region Chairman: Deniz Ülke Arıboğan Vice Chairman: Mithat Sancar Secretary: Levent Korkut Mustafa Armağan Ali Bayramoğlu Ahmet Gündoğdu Hayrettin Karaman Hülya Koçyiğit Yücel Sayman
Mediterranean Region Chairman: Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu Vice Chairman: Lale Mansur Secretary: Tarık Çelenk Kadir İnanır Nihal Bengisu Karaca Şükrü Karatepe Muhsin Kızılkaya Öztürk Türkdoğan Hüseyin Yayman
Southeastern Anatolia Region Chairman: Yılmaz Ensaroğlu Vice Chairman: Kezban Hatemi Secretary: Mehmet Emin Ekmen Murat Belge Fazıl Hüsnü Erdem Yılmaz Erdoğan Etyen Mahçupyan Lami Özgen Ahmet Faruk Ünsal
Timeline Wednesday 28 December 2012: Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan revealed that the National Intelligence Organization (MİT) had been visiting Abdullah Öcalan to find a solution to end the conflict. Thursday 3 January 2013: Ahmet Türk and BDP deputy Ayla Akat Ata went to İmralı island where they met Abdullah Öcalan. Wednesday 9 January 2013: Founding member of the PKK Sakine Cansız and Kurdish activists Fidan Doğan and Leyla Söylemez were assassinated in Paris. Thursday 14 February 2013: The Turkish government has announced that a second delegation of BDP members will be meeting with Öcalan. Friday 15 February 2013: Erdogan said that the negotiations between MIT and Ocalan would be more accurate if it's called 'Solution process' rather than as 'Imralı process'. Saturday 23 February 2013: BDP deputy parliamentary group chair Pervin Buldan, Istanbul deputy Sırrı Süreyya Önder and Diyarbakır deputy Altan Tan went to Öcalan's prison on İmralı island. The delegation, which was granted special authorization by the Ministry of Justice to hold deliberations with Abdullah Öcalan, heard out the PKK leader's proposed roadmap for the government to put an end to the issue of terrorism in the country. Öcalan also passed on letters to Kandil, the PKK's European administration and to the public via the BDP delegation. Thursday 28 February 2013: Daily Milliyet published a story by Namık Durukan claiming to be what was partially discussed between imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan and the three members of the Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party during their visit to Imrali. Monday 11 March 2013: A six-person delegation has left Diyarbakır to meet the eight public workers to be released by PKK in Iraq. The delegation included the BDP politicians Sebahat Tuncel, Adil Kurt and Hüsamettin Zenderlioğlu as well as the president of Human Rights Association (IHD) and the Chairman of Mazlumder. Wednesday 13 March 2013: The PKK freed eight Turkish prisoners held for two years in Iraq. The release of the eight captives came after a request by Öcalan. Monday 18 March 2013: Kurdish parliamentarians set off by boat to visit Abdullah Ocalan in his island prison. The delegation includes BDP co-chair Selahattin Demirtaş, deputies Pervin Buldan and Sırrı Süreyya Önder. Thursday 21 March 2013: After months of negotiations with the Turkish Government, Abdullah Ocalan's letter to people was read both in Turkish and Kurdish during Nowruz celebrations in Diyarbakır. The letter called a cease-fire that included disarmament and withdrawal from Turkish soil and calling an end to armed struggle. Friday 29 March 2013: Erdoğan said that PKK militants who withdraw from Turkey will have to lay down their arms before crossing the border in order to prevent further confrontation. He also said "that when they go, the atmosphere of my country will change when we realize the economic boom in the east [after the withdrawal]." Wednesday 3 April 2013: Turkey has set up a consultative body of "wise people" to help shape public opinion on the peace process with the PKK.