Ankara moved on Wednesday towards a new phase of the peace process with the Kurdistan Workers' Party, through its parliament approving a package of legal reforms conditional on the party's disarmament, in an attempt to end an armed conflict that lasted more than four decades, left tens of thousands dead, and extended beyond the borders. Transferring an essential part of the file to the legislative arena is a guarantee of a broader political and legal treatment of a conflict that has lasted more than four decades.

Published on: 02/18/2026 - 14:52 Last updated: 02/18/2026 - 18:01

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By a wide majority, a Turkish parliamentary committee voted, on Wednesday, on a report that includes a package of legal reforms coinciding with the step of the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) disarming, in a development that would give a new impetus to the peace process aimed at ending an armed conflict that has lasted more than 40 years.

Last year, the Kurdistan Workers' Party stopped its decades-long attacks, announcing its intention to dissolve itself, and calling on Ankara to take measures to allow its members to engage in political life, while Turkey, the United States, and the European Union classify it as a terrorist organization.

Read also: The Kurdistan Workers' Party announces the withdrawal of its forces from Türkiye to northern Iraq, and Ankara praises the decision

Verify disarmament

Thus, the peace process moves to the legislative arena, as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has led the country for more than two decades, seeks to end the conflict that has claimed the lives of more than 40,000 people, resulted in severe internal disputes, and has witnessed the spread of violence across the border into Iraq and Syria.

The nearly 60-page report proposes a roadmap for Parliament to enact laws, which includes a conditional legal framework urging the judiciary to review legislation and comply with rulings of the European Court of Human Rights and the Constitutional Court.

Read also: Erdogan considers the Kurdistan Workers’ Party’s abandonment of weapons a victory for Turkey

The main stated goals of the report are to make Türkiye “terrorism-free” and to promote democracy. The report was approved by 47 deputies on the committee, while two deputies rejected it and one deputy abstained from voting.

The report indicates that political parties agree on the need for progress to proceed mutually and in parallel with regard to implementing reforms and disarmament.

However, the section on legal reforms links implementation to verifying the disarmament of the PKK, and proposes a separate and temporary legal framework, the appointment of a special executive to oversee implementation, and continued judicial oversight to avoid any perceptions of a general amnesty.

A section on democratization proposals includes a recommendation to comply with rulings of the European Court of Human Rights and the Constitutional Court. It also calls for clearer definitions of anti-terrorism law to exclude non-violent acts, and for expanding freedoms of expression, press and assembly.

An ongoing conflict since 1984

The committee was formed in August 2025 to support a potential new phase in efforts to end the conflict that has hampered economic development in Türkiye's predominantly Kurdish southeast.

Read also: Who are the Kurds, what is their political history and religion, and where are they located?

Through the insurgency it has been waging since 1984, the PKK sought to establish an independent state in southeastern Turkey, but in the past few years it has shifted to demanding more rights for the Kurds and limited self-rule.

The Turkish army pushed the armed group deep into the mountainous regions of northern Iraq, putting pressure on it to seek peace.

The PKK burned some weapons in a symbolic move and announced that it would withdraw any remaining fighters from Türkiye in the first step towards its legal reintegration into society, in response to the call of its imprisoned leader Abdullah Ocalan.

France 24/Reuters

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