Turkey MPs back law on reintegrating Kurdish PKK militants

Turkish lawmakers approved a bill on Monday that offers limited amnesty for Kurdish PKK militants, marking a significant step towards ending decades of violence. The historic law, known as the "terror-free Turkey law," was passed after 12 hours of debate, with 468 lawmakers voting in favor, 88 against, and six abstaining. The legislation intends to return some PKK fighters to civilian life after they lay down their weapons, but it does not specify the fate of Abdullah Ocalan, the jailed PKK founder.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and the pro-Kurdish DEM party are supporting the bill. The law suspends prosecutions and prison sentences for some offenses for between five and 10 years, potentially releasing around 3,500 PKK-linked detainees in the initial phase – about a third of those currently in Turkish prisons.

However, serious crimes like murder are excluded from the amnesty provisions. President Erdogan's vice president, Cevdet Yilmaz, confirmed that Ocalan's case does not fall within the scope of the law, but he added that Ocalan could still contribute to the peace process. Yilmaz hailed the new law as a historic step, expressing hope for the disarmament and dissolution processes to be implemented promptly.

Pro-Kurdish opposition party DEM MP Ceylan Akca called the vote "a historic threshold" for Turkey, emphasizing that it marked the beginning of a long journey toward equality. The government had been cautious about framing the law as a general amnesty, acknowledging the public's skepticism following decades of conflict.

While the PKK announced its disbanding in May 2024 following Ocalan's call, the leadership has warned that excluding him from the legislation would render many provisions ineffective.