A draft law to advance the terror-free Türkiye initiative, which involves the disarmament and dissolution of the terrorist group PKK, was before Parliament on Monday for deliberation.
The Law on Strengthening National Solidarity and Social Integration provides for the deferral of prosecution and prison terms for members of the terrorist group who surrender. Parliament’s Justice Committee approved the bill over the weekend and referred it to the General Assembly.
Monday was also the last day before parliament begins a recess that will continue until October. Lawmakers are expected to continue discussions on the law until early hours of Tuesday.
Abdullah Güler, parliamentary group chairman of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party), who worked with representatives of other parties to drum up support for the draft law, sought to convince lawmakers to have faith in the legislation, while most parties expressed support for it.
“We don’t want guns to dominate the agenda in this country again. This law truly presents a terror-free Türkiye model,” he told lawmakers at the General Assembly.
The General Assembly session was portrayed as “historic” by Turkish media outlets. It was almost as if the initiative had come full circle, with Devlet Bahçeli, leader of the government’s ally, the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), sitting in his usual seat and shaking hands with lawmakers from the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) in October 2024.
The unprecedented sight of a nationalist politician shaking hands with lawmakers from a party closely linked to the PKK is now regarded as the informal beginning of the initiative. Soon after the handshake, Bahçeli called for the PKK’s jailed leader, Abdullah Öcalan, to order the terrorist group to lay down its arms. Öcalan complied and made the call in February 2025.
Bahçeli shook hands with DEM lawmakers again as he took his parliamentary seat, just a few inches away from Müsavat Dervişoğlu, leader of the Good Party (IP), which strictly opposes the law. Dervişoğlu and other IP lawmakers donned scarves with Turkish flags to protest the legislation.
The main opposition New Party (YP), which had remained undecided on its position on the law, announced at the last minute on Monday that it would vote in favor of it.
The draft bill will come into force once authorities verify that the PKK and all of its regional affiliates have fully dissolved and handed over all weapons and munitions to security forces, and this verification is published in the Official Gazette.
The bill covers crimes including founding and running the PKK, aiding and abetting the group, producing propaganda for it and funding its operations. Suspects who were prosecuted or investigated for those crimes will have their sentences deferred for five to 10 years. The deferral period will be longer for those prosecuted for crimes carrying prison terms of more than 15 years.
PKK members involved in killings, as well as those prosecuted and sentenced for crimes carrying penalties such as life imprisonment before June 1, 2005, will be exempt from the deferrals. This includes most senior PKK cadres currently hiding in northern Iraq, as well as Abdullah Öcalan, who was previously sentenced to life imprisonment and is currently held in an island prison near Istanbul.
Those benefiting from the deferrals will have certain political and civil rights suspended for two to three years. PKK members seeking to benefit from the deferrals will be allowed to apply at Turkish diplomatic missions in their countries of residence.
Türkiye will also establish two boards to monitor the process: a monitoring board chaired by the vice president and a parliamentary board comprising 17 members. Authorities will record every weapon, piece of ammunition, explosive and piece of equipment declared by PKK members in a registry to monitor the dissolution process.
Speaking on behalf of the Republican People’s Party (CHP) in the early hours of the session, lawmaker Inan Akgün Alp said his party had consistently supported resolving what he called the “Kurdish issue” through peaceful means and would unreservedly support current efforts as well.
“If the guns fall silent, brotherhood will grow stronger. If brotherhood grows stronger, Türkiye will grow stronger. If Türkiye grows stronger, our nation will win,” Alp said.
MHP Deputy Chair Feti Yıldız assured fellow lawmakers in his speech at the Assembly that the bill was not a regulation that “eliminates convictions, changes the legal nature of crimes or terminates criminal liability.”
“Ongoing investigation and prosecution processes, as well as finalized convictions, remain in force with all their consequences. No change is envisaged regarding the nature of the crime, the conviction or criminal liability,” he said.
Addressing the session, DEM Party Co-Chair Tuncer Bakırhan said the law was the “first step toward bringing Kurds within the legal order.”
“I would particularly like to underline the founding role of Öcalan, whose call for peace and a democratic society on Feb. 27, 2025, made this beginning possible. His efforts in favor of a solution should be viewed fairly, rather than through prejudice.
“We also acknowledge the constructive role played in this process by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş and MHP Chair Devlet Bahçeli.
“The law we are discussing today is not a law that creates privileges; it is the first step toward resolving the conflict. This is not a matter of give and take. It is a step toward correcting our historical relationship and achieving a proper reconciliation.
“This law and this process are not concessions, nor are they about winning or losing. There is only one winner in this process: all of Türkiye, our 86 million citizens,” he said.
YP Chair Özgür Özel said the party had decided to vote in favor of the law “so that mothers would not have to hug their children’s coffins.”
“Peace, democracy and justice will be the medicine of this country. We will build our common future together,” he added.
