Details have emerged on a draft report by a parliamentary committee on the terror-free Türkiye initiative for the disarmament of the terrorist group PKK.
The most significant sections of the report focus on legal arrangements to encourage the terrorist group to lay down its arms and references to rulings by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) and Türkiye’s Constitutional Court.
Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş, who also chairs the National Solidarity, Brotherhood and Democracy Committee of Parliament behind the report, sent the draft report to political parties for consensus. The document was prepared within the framework of work carried out by the committee, which is composed of deputy parliamentary group leaders serving as coordinators. The report is expected to be finalized in the coming weeks.
The report recommends enacting a special law for the process and amending certain existing laws. It cites the need to establish a legal framework to encourage and accelerate the disarmament process of the PKK. It emphasizes the necessity of legal regulations to provide a basis for PKK members on the run to return home.
It proposes that necessary amendments to the Turkish Penal Code, the Law on the Execution of Sentences and the Anti-Terror Law be made in parallel with the proposed laws.
Under the heading “Democratization Steps,” the report highlights rulings by the European Court of Human Rights and Türkiye’s Constitutional Court, as well as principles of international law.
It does not explicitly mention an individualized “right to hope,” which was once proposed to be implemented for Abdullah Öcalan, jailed ringleader of the group. However, it makes an indirect reference through its emphasis on ECtHR and Constitutional Court rulings and international legal principles.
The report also assesses that certain administrative steps could be taken regarding the practice of appointing trustees to municipalities whose administrators were accused of funding the PKK and/or aiding and abetting the terrorist group.
Under the democratization heading, the report notes that amendments may be made to the laws on political parties, elections, and public meetings and demonstrations.
