The ruling coalition in Turkey has submitted a draft law to the parliament aimed at supporting the ongoing peace process with the Kurdistan Workers' Party, abbreviated as PKK, in what is considered the most significant legislative step since the initiative was launched. Ankara seeks to end the longstanding conflict with the party, which has lasted for more than four decades and resulted in tens of thousands of deaths, impacting both the security and economic landscape of the country.
The draft law stipulates the organization of legal procedures concerning PKK members, including the termination of legal prosecutions against those who meet the conditions specified by the law, overseeing the process of weapon surrender, and establishing mechanisms for the return of several party members to Turkey. This is part of a plan that the government claims aims to close the file on armed conflict permanently, within the framework of the "Turkey Without Terrorism" initiative backed by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and supported by the Nationalist Movement Party, a coalition partner of the Justice and Development Party.
The submission of the draft came on Wednesday after the work of a parliamentary committee formed about two years ago to follow the settlement process, which held a series of meetings that culminated in the current draft formulation. This draft represents the first legislative framework organizing the phase following the PKK's declaration of self-dissolution and cessation of armed activity, a step that Ankara considered a turning point in the course of the crisis.
The Turkish government emphasizes that the goal of this legislation is to complete the disarmament process of the party and reintegrate those who meet the legal conditions into society, contributing to the resolution of one of the longest internal conflicts that Turkey has witnessed since the 1980s. Authorities indicate that the conflict has resulted, according to their estimates, in the deaths of more than 40,000 people, as well as significant economic costs, particularly in the southeastern regions of the country, where the Kurdish majority resides.
According to Turkish officials, the process is managed in coordination with the People's Equality and Democracy Party, the most prominent party with a Kurdish grassroots base, while indirect consultations continue with the PKK's founder, Abdullah Öcalan, who has been imprisoned in Turkey since 1999 and still holds influence within the party despite his long years of incarceration.