Turkish Parliament Overwhelmingly Approves PKK Disarmament Law

Members of Turkish parliament in a meeting at the Grand National Assembly of Turkey in Ankara, January 2, 2020. Photo: EPA-EFE/STR Turkey’s parliament approved the much-heralded framework law that provides a legal basis for disarming the militant Kurdistan Workers’ Party, PKK, on Monday regulating the judicial procedures for people linked to it and marking the most comprehensive legislative step yet to end the four-decade-long conflict. “Brotherhood will grow even stronger; therefore, once the terrorist organisation seeking to come between us is eliminated, Turkey will become even stronger,” Abdulhamit Gul, Parliamentary Deputy Group Leader of the ruling Justice and Development Party, AKP, told reporters after the vote. The “Law on Strengthening National Solidarity and Social Integration” passed easily, with 467 votes in favour. 88 MPs against and six abstentions. Support came from the ruling AKP, its nationalist ally, the Nationalist Movement Party, MHP, the pro-Kurdish DEM Party, the pro-Kurdish and Islamist HUDA PAR, some MPs from the opposition Republican People’s Party, CHP, some members of the New Path parliamentary group and several independents. The new law lays out the legal framework for the post-disarmament process, including temporary judicial provisions for eligible people convicted of, or investigated over, PKK-related offences. It includes mechanisms such as supervised release, sentence postponement and judicial supervision under specified conditions following the organisation’s dissolution and disarmament. The law stipulates that its provisions take effect only after Turkey’s National Security Council, MGK, has determined that the PKK and its affiliated structures have fully disbanded and surrendered all weapons. The opposition right wing Good Party rejected the bill entirely. “[The law] is for paving the way for [President Recep Tayyip] Erdogan to remain president for life.” Musavat Dervisoglu, its leader, said in parliament. The new main opposition New Party did not adopt a unified decision. Party leader Ozgur Ozel allowed his MPs a free vote, and 54 of its 91 MPs voted against the law. “I am not against peace. I want terrorism to end, the guns to fall silent, and the Kurdish issue to be resolved through democratic and peaceful means,” New Party MP Mahmut Tanal said in a written statement before the vote. However, he said he would vote “no” because he did not trust the government, stressing its harsh crackdown on the opposition and other critics. Ozel announced that the senior party leadership had voted in favour. The legislation follows political developments that began earlier. In February 2025, jailed PKK founder Abdullah Ocalan called on the group to lay down its arms. His appeal followed an unexpected peace initiative by Devlet Bahceli, leader of the MHP, a key ally of Erdogan’s AKP. The initiative led to the establishment of a parliamentary commission and regular visits to Ocalan by a delegation from the pro-Kurdish DEM Party. The new framework law is regarded as the closest Turkey has come to establishing a comprehensive legal basis for ending the decades-long conflict. More than 40,000 people have been killed since fighting between the PKK and Turkish security forces began after Ocalan founded the group in 1984.