Turkey submits bill to parliament aimed at reintegrating PKK fighters

Turkey’s governing coalition put forward a draft law before parliament on Wednesday designed to secure lasting peace with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, offering legal protection from prosecution to many former fighters and suspending prison terms for others.

The legislation represents a significant step toward closing out an insurgency that has claimed more than 40,000 lives since 1984, deepened political divisions inside Turkey and spilled violence into neighboring Iraq and Syria over four decades. The bill aims to bring the long running conflict to a close in part by clearing the way for potentially thousands of former PKK fighters and civilians to return to Turkey from hideouts in northern Iraq.

The measure carries support from a majority of lawmakers and is expected to clear parliament later this week, though public opinion polls suggest many Turks remain doubtful it will deliver a durable peace.

Under the bill, Turkey’s national security council would confirm the group’s disarmament, while a dedicated committee, including the vice president, several cabinet ministers and the head of the MIT intelligence service, would supervise the surrender and disarmament of militants. That committee would then report on the process to a parliamentary oversight commission.

According to the text of the legislation, the bill would suspend prison sentences for individuals convicted of PKK membership or of assisting the organization. It would also extend legal protection to fighters who were not involved in killings, provided they return to Turkey within six months of the law taking effect. PKK figures convicted of more serious offenses, including leading a terrorist organization or sentenced to aggravated life terms before 2005, would fall outside the scope of these protections and would not receive suspended sentences.

That exclusion means PKK founder Abdullah Ocalan, who has been imprisoned since 1999 under an aggravated life sentence, would remain behind bars even as the broader peace process moves forward. Ocalan called on the PKK to lay down its weapons and dissolve last year, a call the group’s leadership accepted.

President Tayyip Erdogan’s governing AK Party secured backing for the bill, formally titled the national solidarity and social integration law, from its nationalist ally the MHP as well as the pro Kurdish DEM Party. Most other parties in parliament, including the main opposition, have also expressed support for the legislation.

DEM co chair Tuncer Bakirhan described the vote as an important first step, saying he hopes the process continues forward in a constructive direction.

The peace initiative between Turkey, which fields NATO’s second largest army, and the PKK first got underway in late 2024. It nearly stalled earlier this year, however, as the war involving Iran raised fears of wider regional instability and diverted attention from the domestic peace effort.

Turkey, along with the United States and the European Union, classifies the PKK as a terrorist organization. The group launched its armed campaign in 1984, initially demanding an independent Kurdish state in southeastern Turkey before later shifting its goals toward greater autonomy and expanded political rights for Kurdish communities within Turkey.

The legislation now heads toward a parliamentary vote expected within days, marking one of the most consequential efforts yet to formally end a conflict that has shaped Turkish domestic politics and regional security dynamics for more than a generation.