With 468 votes in favor, 88 against, and 6 abstentions, Turkish lawmakers have passed a conditional amnesty law for thousands of members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), paving the way for some fighters who disarm to return to civilian life.
Under the law, prosecution and prison sentences for certain offenses will be suspended for periods ranging from 5 to 10 years. However, the law does not grant full amnesty to PKK members. Lawmakers said an estimated 3,500 people detained in connection with the PKK are expected to be released in the initial phase, equivalent to one-third of those currently held in Turkish prisons.
This is Turkey's first legislative step toward ending the protracted conflict, coming 18 months after Abdullah Ocalan, the imprisoned PKK founder, called on his supporters to lay down arms. The law is backed by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) and the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party).
The PKK, designated a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States, and the European Union, launched its insurgency in 1984. The conflict has killed more than 40,000 people, imposed a heavy economic burden on the predominantly Kurdish southeast, and deepened political and social divisions over decades.
