ANKARA, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- Türkiye's ruling alliance said on Wednesday it had submitted draft legislation to parliament to establish a legal framework for implementing the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK)'s disarmament, a key step in advancing the government's initiative to end PKK insurgency.
The draft legislation has been endorsed by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's Justice and Development Party (AKP) and its ally, and has also received backing from the pro-Kurdish DEM Party and other opposition groups, Abdullah Guler, a leading AKP lawmaker, told reporters.
According to the government, the proposed legislation is designed to facilitate the disarmament process rather than grant a general amnesty.
It would allow lower-ranking PKK members who have not been involved in killings or other serious violent crimes to return to Türkiye from hideouts in northern Iraq and Syria under specified legal conditions.
Inmates who were not directly involved in armed attacks or bombings could become eligible for release or supervised probation under the proposed legal framework, while imprisoned PKK founder Abdullah Ocalan, senior PKK leaders and inmates serving aggravated life sentences are excluded.
The draft must first be approved by a parliamentary committee before being put to a vote in the General Assembly, where lawmakers are expected to debate the bill before parliament begins its summer recess later this month.
The PKK, which has waged an insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984, announced in May 2025 its decision to disarm and disband, following a call by Ocalan to end the armed struggle. The decades-long conflict has claimed more than 40,000 lives. ■
