This week will be a busy one for Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş, who will hold talks with representatives of political parties on the terror-free Türkiye initiative. The main topic will be a “framework law” that will mark another milestone in the initiative, which aims to dissolve and disarm the PKK terrorist group.
Kurtulmuş’s meetings will follow talks between a delegation formed by the pro-PKK Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) and representatives of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) and its ally, the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP). MHP leader Devlet Bahçeli informally launched the initiative in 2024, and since then, the DEM Party has acted as an intermediary between imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan and Parliament. Öcalan’s call for the PKK to lay down its arms in February 2025 was followed by a message of compliance from the terrorist group. The disarmament process is still underway, and Parliament plans to enact laws and regulations once authorities confirm that the group has fully abandoned its arms. The laws and regulations will pave the way for more lenient sentences for PKK members who were not involved in acts of terrorism.
The DEM Party, MHP and AK Party have exchanged views on the content and scope of the framework law, while President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan seeks the broadest possible consensus in Parliament on the matter. To that end, Kurtulmuş will hold talks with the parties to seek their support. His talks will also focus on the political parties’ expectations regarding the initiative.
After the talks, the framework law, which is expected to contain up to 10 articles, will be presented to Parliament as a draft bill. Parliament will work throughout August to put the final touches on the law.
The framework law will have a time limit, and those who give up their arms and surrender to the authorities within a defined period will benefit from the law. The law will include all regulations being considered for imprisoned PKK members and those on the run. Unconfirmed reports say that those who were not involved in any crimes while active in the PKK will be subject to judicial control measures, such as house arrest, a ban on traveling abroad and regularly reporting their whereabouts to the authorities. Those who were convicted only of aiding and abetting the group will also have their sentences reduced under the law.
