12.07.2025 07:40
In line with the goal of a Turkey without terrorism, the first group of PKK members has laid down their arms. The surrendered weapons were destroyed by burning. This symbolic step, that is, the melting of the metal, signifies the condemnation of the painful memories of the past and their erasure together with the local community.
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Turkey is getting rid of the terror plague that has lasted for half a century. The 'Terror-Free Turkey' goal, which started with the call of MHP Chairman Devlet Bahçeli and was supported by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's determined stance, has reached its final stage. The terrorist organization PKK, which had previously announced its decision to disband, has begun to lay down its arms.
WEAPONS BURNED
In the Dukan district, located 70 kilometers from Sulaymaniyah and 120 kilometers from Erbil, where the KYB is in control, many journalists, writers, and politicians from Turkey and Iraq gathered to follow the organization's disarmament process. A group of PKK members gathered in a cave within the borders of the Surdaş neighborhood, which is affiliated with Sulaymaniyah, and came out with their weapons to the area where the community was located. The PKK group, consisting of 30 people, including 15 women, destroyed their weapons by throwing them into a large cauldron filled with fire. The complete disarmament process of the organization is aimed to be completed by the end of September.
HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF CASENE CAVE
Regarding the PKK group's act of throwing their weapons into the fire after exiting the Casene Cave, CNN TÜRK News Director İdris Arıkan stated, "The complete burning of these weapons and the emergence of the addresses of imperial powers when we look at the tendencies of these weapons shows what Turkey's real struggle means. For the people of that region, in the fight against the British, it is defined as a place where Özdemir Pasha also served. The symbolic meaning of the event is that. It is a region that was used as a headquarters in the struggles against the British at that time."
WHY WERE THE WEAPONS NOT BURIED BUT BURNED?
İdris Arıkan also commented on why the weapons were burned instead of being buried, saying, "There is a concept that causes historical moments. It is called 'Damnatio memoriae', the damnation of memory. It means that 'All traces of it should be removed from the life of that region in accordance with the public honor of the city as if it never existed.' When you replace the Roman concept of that time with Turkey, this issue of burning with fire, the burning of the tool that was fought with at that time. It was a sword or an arrow back then. The melting of that iron means the damnation of that memory. The burning of the weapons actually means that Turkey is erasing its past bad memories with the local people as a result of its imperial struggle." he said.
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