The first group of Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) members laid down their weapons during a ceremony held on Friday.

Thirty PKK members, including some party leaders, participated in a disarmament ceremony at Jasana Cave near Sulaymaniyah, which involved laying down and burning their weapons.

At a press conference following the ceremony, the PKK’s Group for Peace and Democratic Society called on all parties to support democratic life.

“Our people need a peaceful, free, and democratic life more than ever,” the group stated.

The ceremony was attended by dozens of local and international guests, including officials from the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and Turkey, as well as journalists from Kurdistan and abroad covering the event.

Two delegations from Turkey and North Kurdistan attended the event, led by Ahmet Turk, former mayor of Mardin, and Tuncer Bakirhan, co-chair of the Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), respectively.

A delegation from the KRG Interior Ministry participated on behalf of the government. At the federal level, delegations from the Iraqi Interior Ministry and intelligence services were also in attendance.

Channel8 reporters also confirmed the presence of delegations from the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), and other political parties.

The ceremony marks the implementation of decisions made at the 12th Congress of the PKK, during which the organization committed to disarmament.

In a video message released on June 9, imprisoned Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan appealed for a voluntary transition to democratic politics, disarmament, and a new legal framework to resolve the Kurdish issue within Turkey.

He declared that the PKK had achieved its original goal—gaining recognition of Kurdish existence—and urged the creation of a legal and democratic mechanism for reintegration, including a “comprehensive and responsible commission” within the Turkish Parliament.