A demonstrator holds a picture of jailed Kurdish militant leader Abdullah Ocalan. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters
The Turkiye government on Wednesday (August 5) presented a limited amnesty for PKK Kurdish militants, a first legislative step to bring an end to decades of deadly fighting.
Most of parliament’s members signed on to the text, indicating their support when it likely comes up for a vote in the coming days.
But the proposed law does not specify what will become of Abdullah Ocalan, the 77-year-old founder and longtime leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), who has spent 27 years in solitary confinement on a prison island.
Ocalan has gone along with an almost two-year-old peace initiative, and in May 2025 the PKK dissolved itself and laid down its arms after four decades of armed conflict seeking greater autonomy for the country’s Kurdish minority.
“Today, we are turning a new page in Turkey’s political history,” said Tuncer Bakirhan, co-chair of the pro-Kurdish DEM party.
“It is a milestone for peace, democracy, and our shared future,” he added.
The Bill includes a mechanism to facilitate the return of PKK militants by suspending their jail sentences for as much as 10 years.
If there are no repeat offences during the suspension period, the sentences will be considered served, amounting to a de facto amnesty.
However, the amnesty excludes “intentional homicides” and “crimes punishable by life imprisonment committed before June 1, 2005.”
A council composed of several ministers and the vice president, as well as a parliamentary commission, will be responsible for overseeing the implementation of the law.
Some 360 deputies in the 592-seat assembly said they would support the bill, including those from President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s AKP, his MHP allies and the DEM.
However, the main opposition party, the newly formed Yeni Party, expressed regret that the text had not been shared with them. The Bill must be reviewed by the Parliament’s Justice Committee before being put to a vote by lawmakers.
Under an expedited procedure, the entire process is expected to be completed by the weekend or early next week.
The peace process began in October 2024 at the initiative of Devlet Bahceli, leader of the nationalist MHP party and an Erdogan ally.
The aim is to put an end to the violence between the PKK and the Turkish army that has claimed at least 50,000 lives.
Published – August 08, 2026 09:48 pm IST
