Although the PKK initially sought an independent Kurdish state, in the 1990s its official platform changed to seeking autonomy and increased political and cultural rights for Kurds within Turkey.

[44] The PKK was formed as part of a growing discontent over the suppression of Turkey's Kurds, in an effort to establish linguistic, cultural, and political rights for the Kurdish minority.

[60][61][62][63][64] As a result of the military coup of 1971, many militants of the revolutionary left were deprived of a public appearance, movements like the People's Liberation Army of Turkey (THKO) or the Communist Party of Turkey/Marxist–Leninist (TKP-ML) were cracked down upon and forbidden.

[45] Following several years of preparation, the Kurdistan Workers Party was established during a foundation congress on 26 and 27 November 1978 in the rural village of Fîs, Lice, Diyarbakır.

Its aims and objectives have evolved over time towards the goals of national autonomy[76] a federation similar the one of Switzerland, Germany or the United States[24] and democratic confederalism.

[citation needed] The organization has adapted the new democratic confederalist views of its arrested leader, which aim to replace the United Nations, capitalism and nation state with the democratic confederalism which is described as a system of popularly elected administrative councils, allowing local communities to exercise autonomous control over their assets while linking to other communities via a network of confederal councils.

The PKK had also completely moved to Qandil Mountains from Beqaa Valley, under intensive pressure, after Syria expelled Öcalan and shut down all camps established in the region.

[112] The other permanent camps, in the Qandil Mountains of Iraq, have more developed infrastructure—including a field hospital, electricity generators and a large proportion of the PKK's lethal and non-lethal supplies.

[118][115] In sequence HEP/DEP/HADEP/DEHAP/DTP and the BDP, which later changed its name to Democratic Regions Party (DBP) on 11 July 2014,[119] as well as the HDP and then DEM have been criticized of sympathizing with the PKK, since they have refused to brand it as a terrorist group.

[129] Former police special forces member Ayhan Çarkın said that the state, using the clandestine Ergenekon network, colluded with militant groups such as the PKK, Dev-Sol and Turkish Hezbollah, with the goal of profiting from the war.

[130] The secret witness "First Step" testified that General Levent Ersöz, former head of JITEM, had frequent contact with PKK commander Cemîl Bayik.

[135] The possession of Devran, a book authored by the political prisoner Selahattin Demirtaş, was viewed as an evidence for a membership in a terrorist organization in 2019 because according to the prosecution it described events involving the PKK.

In Germany several Kurdish entities such as the Association of Students from Kurdistan (YXK),[143] the Mesopotamia publishing house or the Mir Multimedia music label were deemed to be close to the PKK.

[144] The latter two were eventually closed down by Interior Minister Horst Seehofer who accused them of acting as a forefront of the PKK[144] and to support the PKKs activities in Europe with its revenue.

[150] The PKK has faced condemnation by some countries and human rights organizations for the killing of teachers and civil servants,[53][151] using suicide bombers,[152][153] and recruiting child soldiers.

[163] According to the European Police Office (EUROPOL), the organization collects money from its members, using labels like 'donations' and 'membership fees' which are seen as a fact extortion and illegal taxation by the authorities.

Aliza Marcus stated that some of those Kurdish smugglers who were involved in the drug trade, either because they truly believed in the PKK—or because they thought it a good business practice (avoid conflicts)—frequently donated money to the PKK rebels.

According to Turkey, those countries the PKK previously or currently received support from include: Greece,[175][176] Cyprus,[177] Iran,[178] Iraq,[179] Russia,[180] Syria,[178] Finland,[181] Sweden[181] and the United States.

The vast majority of PKK's actions have taken place mainly in Turkey against the Turkish military, although it has on occasions co-operated with other Kurdish nationalist paramilitary groups in neighboring states, such as Iraq and Iran.

[255] In March 1993 Öcalan, in presence of PUK leader Jalal Talabani declared a unilateral ceasefire for a month in order to facilitate peace negotiations with Turkey.

To this event, the Kurdish politicians Jamal Talabani, Ahmet Türk from the People's Labor Party (HEP) and also Kemal Burkay also attended and declared their support for the ceasefire.

[260][261][262][263][excessive citations] In the late 1980s and early 1990s, in an effort to win increased support from the Kurdish peasantry, the PKK altered its leftist secular ideology to better accommodate and accept Islamic beliefs.

[268][269][270] The leader of the organization, Abdullah Öcalan, was captured, prosecuted and sentenced to death, but this was later commuted to life imprisonment as part of the government's seeking European Union membership.

[281][282][283] As a result of increasing Kurdish population and activism, the Turkish parliament began a controlled process of dismantling some anti-Kurdish legislation, using the term "normalization" or "rapprochement", depending on the sides of the issue.

"[302] The prospect of armed Kurdish forces in northern Iraq threatens to increase tensions between the region and Baghdad who are already at odds over certain oil producing territory.

[306] As part of the civil war, many PKK fighters laid down arms in Turkey and moved to Syria, facilitating the creation of a progressive Kurdish government in Rojava.

[312] In September 2014, during the Siege of Kobanî, some PKK fighters engaged with Islamic State forces in Syria who were attacking Kurdish city Kobane, which resulted in conflicts with Turks on the border and an end to a cease-fire that had been in place over a year.

[314] A number of Turkish Kurds rallied in large-scale street protests, demanding that the government in Ankara take more forceful action to combat IS and to enable Kurdish militants already engaged against IS to more freely move and resupply.

[328] In October 2024, the PKK claimed responsibility[329] for a deadly attack on Turkish Aerospace Industries (TUSAŞ) headquarters, resulting in 5 deaths, including four civilians, and 22 injuries.

[331] In February 2025, Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Öcalan urged all members of the group to lay down arms and dissolve the organisation for good.