Türkiye’s parliament on Monday approved a key piece of legislation underpinning the government’s effort to end decades of conflict with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), moving the so-called Terror-Free Türkiye initiative closer to implementation.
The Bill on Strengthening National Solidarity and Social Cohesion passed after around 12 hours of debate, with 468 lawmakers voting in favour, 88 against and six abstentions.
The legislation sets out what will happen to legal cases linked to the PKK and Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK) and affiliated groups if authorities determine that they have ended their armed activities and surrendered their weapons.
It allows for the suspension of investigations, prosecutions, convictions and other related proceedings. It also covers offences including membership of, aiding or promoting the terrorist organisation, crimes committed as part of its activities and terrorism-financing offences carried out in its favour.
The scale of the vote was highlighted by senior Turkish officials as a sign of broad political backing for the initiative.
Parliamentary Speaker Numan Kurtulmus said the move should be seen as an achievement for the country as a whole rather than any single political party.
“This achievement belongs not only to one political party but to Türkiye as a whole. We will follow the process carefully and meticulously. As a nation, we will demonstrate that we have embraced this process," Kurtulmus said.
He said the process would now move forward smoothly and called on Turks to embrace the parliamentary decision.
Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz also pointed to the size of the majority, saying the amount of votes in favour were significant for political consensus and public support.
“The 468 votes in favour of the ‘Terror-Free Türkiye’ process law are extremely important and valuable in terms of political consensus and broad public support," Yilmaz said.
Yilmaz said the initiative had been built through the work of state institutions and a shared understanding, while stressing that Türkiye’s principles and national values had remained unchanged.
“The goal of a ‘Terror-Free Türkiye’ has been developed through the dedicated efforts of our institutions and a common understanding. The principles of our state and the values of our nation have never been compromised," Yilmaz added.
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