PKK supporters demonstrate in London in 2003, credit CC 3.0. BY-SA Francis Tyers

A Kurdish militant group has officially agreed to disband and halt a 40-year insurgency.

Called the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or the PKK, the decision came in early May following the organization’s 12th Party Congress, in which it was determined that the quest for Kurdish sovereignty could be accomplished politically, and that armed struggle was no longer necessary.

An agency close to the PKK claimed the group “believes that Kurdish political parties will assume their responsibilities to develop Kurdish democracy and ensure the formation of a democratic Kurdish nation.”

The conflict between the PKK and Turkey has been one of the world’s longest-running insurgencies, and has resulted in tens of thousands of casualties. It began as an attempt to create a nation for the stateless Kurdish people who currently make up around 20% of the Turkish population.

In February of this year, the imprisoned founder of the group, Abdullah Öcalan, released a statement from prison calling on the group to convene a conference and dissolve.

“I am making a call for the laying down of arms, and I take on the historical responsibility of this call,” Öcalan said.

Along with Öcalan, the Kurdish dominated political party DEM, the country’s third largest, played a significant role in achieving the disarmament. Tayip Temel, a deputy party leader, told Reuters that the decision would impact the lives of Kurds all over the Middle East, and would necessitate a “major shift” in the Turkish politics.

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The president of the Kurdistan region in neighboring Iraq, Nechirvan Barzani, welcomed PKK’s move, saying the decision “demonstrates political maturity and paves the way for a dialogue that promotes coexistence and stability in Turkey and the region.”

Barzani added that it “lays the foundation for a lasting peace that would end decades of violence, pain and suffering,” saying the Iraqi Kurds are ready to support efforts to guarantee the success of “this historic opportunity,” a phrase Turkish President Recep Erdogan also used.

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