Turkey Pushes Legislative Path to End Decades of PKK Insurgency

The "national solidarity and social integration" bill enjoys rare cross-party backing from the ruling AK Party, its nationalist MHP allies, and the pro-Kurdish DEM Party. Lawmakers expect the assembly to approve the measure this week, tasking a high-level committee—including the vice president and the head of the MIT intelligence agency—with verifying disarmament and overseeing the reintegration process. Under the draft, prison sentences for PKK membership or aiding the group would be suspended, with legal immunity granted to those returning within six months, provided they were not involved in killings.

Despite the legislative momentum, the plan excludes those convicted of leading the organization or serving aggravated life sentences prior to 2005. Consequently, Abdullah Ocalan, the PKK leader jailed since 1999, remains ineligible for release. While the peace process, which resumed in late 2024, previously stalled due to regional instability and the war in Iran, proponents view this legislation as a crucial mechanism to finally resolve the insurgency. The PKK, designated a terrorist organization by Turkey, the EU, and the United States, shifted its original goal of an independent state toward autonomy and broader political rights over the last four decades.