Sixteen Turkish bar associations have expressed support for legislation recently passed by parliament to advance the country’s Kurdish peace process, describing it as a “historic opportunity” to contribute to lasting peace.
Turkey’s parliament approved the law Monday by 468 votes to 88, with six abstentions, marking the first legislative step in a process aimed at ending more than four decades of conflict between the Turkish state and the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
The bar associations of Adıyaman, Ağrı, Batman, Bingöl, Bitlis, Dersim, Diyarbakır, Hakkari, Iğdır, Kars, Mardin, Muş, Siirt, Şanlıurfa, Şırnak and Van issued the joint statement following parliament’s passage of the Law on Strengthening National Solidarity and Social Integration.
The associations said the legislation required improvements in its legal drafting and scope but constituted a historic step toward completely silencing the guns and resolving problems through law and democratic politics.
“We regard every sincere legal and democratic step aimed at permanently ending the environment of conflict, which for nearly half a century has led to the death of tens of thousands of people, profound social suffering, forced displacement and severe economic costs, as a historic opportunity,” they said.
The associations stressed that lasting peace could not be achieved solely through criminal law measures. They said the process must be based on the rule of law, transparency, social justice and democratization; strengthen fundamental rights and freedoms; and involve all segments of society.
“The provisions of the law that could lead to differing interpretations in practice must be made clear and foreseeable, its scope must be clarified, and objective criteria ensuring equal application must be established, as required by the principle of the rule of law,” the statement said.
While maintaining that the law’s shortcomings should be addressed in line with universal legal principles, the associations said they viewed the measure as an opportunity to help achieve the lasting peace Turkey has long sought and “support it in principle.”
The legislation suspends prosecutions and prison sentences for some PKK members who lay down their weapons, allowing them to return to civilian life, but does not provide for a general amnesty.
Prosecutions and prison sentences for some offenses will be suspended for periods ranging from five to 10 years. Investigations will be dropped and sentences considered served if those covered by the measure do not reoffend during that period. People convicted of offenses including intentional homicide are excluded.
About 3,500 PKK-linked detainees are expected to be released in the first phase, according to lawmakers.
PKK founder Abdullah Öcalan called on the group in February 2025 to dissolve, lay down its arms and pursue Kurdish rights through political means. The PKK announced its dissolution in May 2025, and its members began destroying their weapons at a ceremony in northern Iraq two months later.
The conflict has claimed more than 40,000 lives since the PKK launched its armed campaign against the Turkish state in 1984.
