“We are taking the first step on a thousand-kilometre road.
We are taking a step towards democracy for everyone,” Abdullah Ocalan said in early August.
The group announced its dissolution in May, formally ending its armed campaign. The New York Times reported that some nationalist politicians said it would reward militants and accused President Erdogan of using it to woo Kurdish voters. The Board, chaired by Vice-President Cevdet Yilmaz, brought together senior officials including Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Defence Minister Yasar Guler and National Intelligence Organisation chief Ibrahim Kalin. It decided to set up four working groups dealing with legal issues, disarmament, monitoring, and the social reintegration of former militants. Ocalan called on the PKK to lay down its arms and dissolve. In July, the disarmament process began with a symbolic ceremony in northern Iraq, where PKK burned their weapons. Meanwhile, the peace process isn’t without criticism. We are moving forward with firm steps”.
The latest development came on August 24, when a Monitoring and Evaluation Board set up to oversee the process held its first meeting. Later in February 2025, Mr. Yet, the 77-year-old Mr.
Since then, Ankara has been building the legal and institutional framework around what the government calls “Terror-Free Turkiye”. Ocalan said, “The process has reached a critical stage.
The law provides conditional amnesty measures for people accused or convicted of offences linked to the PKK, including membership, assisting the organisation, spreading propaganda, and financing terrorism. It could pave the way for thousands of militants to return to Turkiye and reintegrate into society, and could also result in prison sentences being suspended for some people convicted of belonging to or supporting the group. The government, meanwhile, has stressed that it is not a general amnesty. There are clear limits, however. Those convicted of intentional killings are excluded. That is particularly significant for Mr. Ocalan. Despite being a central figure in the current peace process, he would not benefit from the new law. Mr. It has also demanded Mr.
A new law passed by Parliament on August 10, as part of that effort, was approved by 468 of the 592 lawmakers who voted. So are people sentenced to life imprisonment without parole for offences committed before 2005.
Yilmaz said Mr. Ocalan’s case “does not fall within the scope of this law”, but added that he could remain “in a position to contribute to the peace process”. The PKK has called the legislation a “beginning” but said it contains “serious shortcomings and deficiencies”. Ocalan’s release, stating that the process can move forward only if he “lives and works freely”.
