United News of Bangladesh

Turkey's parliament began debating a draft law on Monday that would provide conditional legal relief to thousands of Kurdish militants as part of the government's efforts to advance a peace process with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). The proposed 12-article law sets out procedures for the PKK to disarm and disband, as well as measures to help reintegrate thousands of its members. The PKK ended its decades-long armed campaign against the Turkish state last year and announced plans to disarm and dissolve the organisation after a call from its imprisoned leader, Abdullah Ocalan. The group later held a symbolic disarmament ceremony in northern Iraq, where it has long maintained bases, and said it was withdrawing fighters from key positions in Turkey to Iraq. Under the proposed law, some prison sentences for convicted PKK members would be suspended, while ongoing investigations and trials could be delayed for five or 10 years, depending on the seriousness of the alleged offences. Cases would be dropped if those receiving the legal relief committed no terrorism-related offences during the specified period. However, the proposed measures would not apply to PKK members convicted of intentional killings or those sentenced to life imprisonment before 2005. Ocalan and other senior PKK figures would therefore be excluded. The draft law would also create ministerial and parliamentary committees to oversee the disarmament process. The measures would take effect only after Turkey's National Security Council confirms that the PKK has disbanded and handed over all its weapons. Those eligible for the provisions would have six months to apply after the council's decision is published in the country's Official Gazette. Media reports said PKK members living in exile and those based in Iraq and Syria are among those expected to benefit. The bill is expected to pass with support from President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's ruling party, its nationalist allies and the pro-Kurdish DEM Party. The DEM Party has also called for Ocalan, who has been imprisoned since 1999, to be formally allowed to help coordinate the peace process, potentially paving the way for his release. The current draft, however, does not address Ocalan's legal status or provide for his release. Media reports have suggested that his detention conditions on an island prison near Istanbul could be eased, including allowing more visits and communication with the outside world. The PKK launched its armed insurgency against Turkey in 1984. The conflict has killed tens of thousands of people and spread into neighbouring Iraq and Syria. Turkey, the United States and the European Union have designated the PKK as a terrorist organisation. The group initially fought for an independent Kurdish state but later shifted its demands toward greater autonomy and expanded rights for Kurds in Turkey. Several previous peace efforts between Turkey and the PKK have failed, most recently in 2015.