Turkey approves conditional release of thousands of PKK members

Turkey’s parliament has approved a bill allowing thousands of members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) to receive conditional amnesty and return to civilian life.

The bill was approved on Monday with 468 votes in favour, 88 against and six abstentions, according to the Associated Press.

The legislation does not provide a blanket amnesty. Instead, it allows a significant number of PKK members who surrender their weapons to avoid prosecution and imprisonment under certain conditions.

The measure marks Turkey’s first legal step towards resolving the decades-long conflict. It comes 18 months after jailed PKK founder Abdullah Ocalan called on his followers to disarm.

The PKK, designated as a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the United States and the European Union, launched its insurgency in 1984. More than 40,000 people have been killed in the conflict, which has also placed a heavy economic burden on southeastern Turkey and deepened political and social divisions for decades.

Backed by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) and the pro-Kurdish DEM Party, the bill provides for the suspension of prosecution and imprisonment for five to 10 years for certain offences.

Lawmakers said around 3,500 PKK-linked prisoners could be released in the initial phase, representing roughly one-third of all prisoners held in Turkish jails.

SKS