{"id":243624,"date":"2026-08-10T16:06:09","date_gmt":"2026-08-10T16:06:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/243624\/"},"modified":"2026-08-10T16:06:09","modified_gmt":"2026-08-10T16:06:09","slug":"turkeys-parliament-opens-debate-on-a-pardon-like-bill-for-thousands-of-pkk-militants-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/243624\/","title":{"rendered":"Turkey\u2019s parliament opens debate on a pardon-like bill for thousands of PKK militants"},"content":{"rendered":"

ANKARA, Turkey — Turkey\u2019s parliament on Monday opened debate on a draft bill<\/a> that would introduce a conditional amnesty for thousands of Kurdish militants, offering them a pardon-like mechanism in a bid to advance the government\u2019s peace initiative<\/a> with their insurgent group.<\/p>\n

Last year, the Kurdistan Workers\u2019 Party,<\/a> or PKK, ended its decades-long armed campaign against the Turkish state, declaring a decision to disarm and disband as part of the peace effort. The move came in response to a call from its imprisoned leader, Abdullah Ocalan.<\/a><\/p>\n

The PKK then staged a symbolic disarmament ceremony<\/a> in northern Iraq, where it is based, and announced that it was withdrawing fighters from key locations in Turkey to Iraq.<\/p>\n

The measure, which is a step toward ending a conflict that has killed tens of thousands of people, could have implications beyond Turkey’s borders, leading to closer Turkish-Iraqi ties. It could also support the Syrian government’s efforts to integrate areas that were under the control of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, affiliated with the PKK.<\/p>\n

It also offers Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan<\/a> the opportunity to court the support of the pro-Kurdish DEM party to help him remain in office beyond the presidential two-term limit. Erdogan could run again if parliament calls an early election during his current term.<\/p>\n

The 12-article draft legislation outlines the procedures for the disarmament of the group \u2014 which still retains the bulk of its weapons \u2014 and the rehabilitation of thousands of PKK members.<\/p>\n

The legislation would suspend some prison sentences for convicted PKK members and postpone ongoing investigations and trials for five or 10 years, depending on the severity of the alleged offenses. If no terror-related crime is committed within the time frame, the cases would be dropped.<\/p>\n

Militants convicted of intentional killings and those sentenced to life terms before 2005 are excluded from the bill\u2019s provisions. This applies to Ocalan and other senior PKK figures.<\/p>\n

The proposal also sets up ministerial and parliamentary committees to monitor the disarmament process. The measures would come into effect only after Turkey\u2019s National Security Council confirms that the group has disbanded and surrendered all weapons. <\/p>\n

Those wanting to benefit from the law would have six months to apply after the National Security Council\u2019s decision is published in the official gazette.<\/p>\n

Media reports have said exiled PKK members and those in Iraq and Syria are expected to benefit.<\/p>\n

The PKK-linked ANF news outlet carried a statement from the group in which it said that the Turkish legislation is a \u201cbeginning\u201d to resolving the outstanding issues but has \u201cserious shortcomings and deficiencies.\u201d It called for Ocalan\u2019s release from prison, saying that the peace process can move forward only if he \u201clives and works freely.\u201d<\/p>\n

It also said that the legislation failed to address demands for democratic reforms and Kurdish rights, adding that PKK fighters would not give up their weapons and return to Turkey \u201cif, upon returning to Turkey, they are unable to engage in democratic politics on the basis of freedom of thought and freedom of association, and if they are prosecuted and imprisoned because of their views or the organizations they establish.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe people of Turkey, who have paid a heavy price for many years, now have an opportunity to consolidate peace and build democracy,\u201d Gulistan Kilic Kocyigit, of the pro-Kurdish Peoples\u2019 Equality and Democracy Party, or DEM, told parliament.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course, the proposal has shortcomings, and we now have a responsibility to address these shortcomings,\u201d she added, in an apparent reference to demands for greater rights for Kurds and for democratic reforms.<\/p>\n

Musavat Dervisoglu, the leader of the center-right nationalist Good Party, which opposes the bill, said it \u201cwould pave the way\u201d for Erdogan to stay in power. <\/p>\n

The measures were expected to easily pass with the votes of Erdogan’s ruling party, its nationalist allies and DEM. Turkey’s largest opposition party in parliament, New Party, also said it would vote in favor, despite the bill’s shortfalls.<\/p>\n

DEM has lobbied for Ocalan, who has been imprisoned since 1999, to be granted official status to coordinate the transition process, leading to his release.<\/p>\n

The current proposal, however, makes no mention of Ocalan\u2019s status or possible release.<\/p>\n

Media reports have suggested however, that Ocalan\u2019s conditions in his island prison off Istanbul will likely be improved, giving him broader visiting conditions and communication with the outside world.<\/p>\n

The PKK has waged an armed insurgency since 1984 that has claimed tens of thousands of lives and spilled into Iraq and Syria. It has been designated a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.<\/p>\n

The group initially sought an independent Kurdish state but later shifted to demands for autonomy and expanded rights in Turkey.<\/p>\n

Previous peace efforts between Turkey and the PKK have failed, most recently in 2015.<\/p>\n

__<\/p>\n

Stella Martany contributed from Irbil, Iraq.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ANKARA, Turkey — Turkey\u2019s parliament on Monday opened debate on a draft bill that would introduce a conditional…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":243625,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[14],"tags":[1152,5590,197,1829,94,598,10536,1915,47768,81,82],"class_list":["post-243624","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-iraq","tag-democracy","tag-disarmament","tag-general-news","tag-international-agreements","tag-iraq","tag-islam","tag-law-and-order","tag-legislation","tag-pardons-and-commutations","tag-politics","tag-world-news"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@iran\/117072074212414742","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/243624","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=243624"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/243624\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/243625"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=243624"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=243624"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=243624"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}