Turkish parliament approves peace law with PKK

The Turkish parliament on 11 August 2026 approved a law designed to advance a peace process with the banned Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), voting overwhelmingly in favour of measures that could lead to the early release or suspension of sentences for many PKK members.

In the vote 468 deputies backed the bill, 88 voted against it and six abstained. The law allows, under certain conditions, the postponement of serving sentences for PKK members, but its provisions will take effect only after security agencies certify that the PKK and affiliated groups have been dissolved and handed over their weapons; that certification must then be approved by the National Security Council and published in the Official Gazette.

Political dynamics behind the initiative

The move forward with the peace initiative was triggered in part by a proposal from ultra‑nationalist MHP leader Devlet Bahceli. Bahceli, an ally of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, had until recently been publicly opposed to reconciliation with the PKK.

Analysts note that President Erdogan is likely seeking the backing or at least the acquiescence of the pro‑Kurdish DEM party as he pursues constitutional amendments that could allow him to run for president again. Experts also point out that the PKK has been weakened by years of Turkish military operations in Iraq and by the collapse of the Kurdish autonomous enclave in Syria.

There is substantial scepticism about whether the peace process can reach a successful conclusion. Parts of the opposition accused the government of managing the process non‑transparently and argued that any peace must be paired with broader democratization and expanded rights for the Kurdish population. Yeni party leader Ozgur Ozel criticized the bill as superficial but said he supported it to avoid blocking the peace process and further bloodshed. DEM co‑chair Tuncer Bakirhan described the law as a first step and said, "Now must follow democratization, the rule of law and resolution of the Kurdish question."

The PKK itself warned before the law's passage that the envisaged steps could only be executed if the group's founder, Abdullah Ocalan, were living in free conditions and personally led the peace process. The PKK announced last year it would suspend its decades‑long armed struggle and begin to dissolve as part of peace efforts; some fighters have already handed over weapons symbolically.

The insurgency launched by the PKK in 1984 has cost tens of thousands of lives and spread violence into Iraq and Syria. The organization is designated as a terrorist group by Turkey, the European Union and the United States.

Photo: press material from the event