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Turkish Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmus presented a landmark report from the National Solidarity, Brotherhood, and Democracy Commission on Wednesday. The Turkish official emphasized that the document is "not an amnesty" but a roadmap for ending terrorism and reintegrating former terrorist organization PKK members into society.
"Today, we are passing through a historic period on the terrorism issue. Our Grand National Assembly has undertaken its duty without hesitation," Kurtulmus told the commission's 21st session.
"The report is not an amnesty arrangement—it should be considered a touchstone for steps taken and to be taken," he noted.
The 60-page report, compiled over 88 hours of work with 4,199 pages of transcripts, outlines proposals for legal frameworks governing the PKK's dissolution, weapons surrender, and social reintegration of former militants.
The report prepared by the National Solidarity, Brotherhood and Democracy Commission, established within the framework of the "Türkiye Without Terrorism" goal, was accepted with the votes of 47 members of parliament.
Kurtulmus said the report consists of seven main sections covering commission work, fundamental objectives, the historical roots of Turkish-Kurdish brotherhood, consensus areas from witness testimonies, PKK self-dissolution and disarmament, legal arrangement proposals, and democratization recommendations.
"Legal arrangements must not create a perception of impunity or amnesty in society," the report stated.
Deputy Parliament Secretary General Ahmet Bozkurt explained that judicial proceedings must be conducted for all individuals involved.
"A law to be prepared for organization members must include a judicial arrangement for these individuals. A perception like amnesty must not form in society," Bozkurt said.
The report recommends a "purpose-specific, independent, and temporary" legal arrangement to manage the disarmament process and its aftermath while strengthening social cohesion.
According to the document, such legislation should aim to reintegrate individuals who reject weapons and violence into society, permanently end armed conflict and move the issue entirely onto legal and political ground.
"The law should not only determine and establish the legal status of organization members after disarmament. The law should also aim for the fair, safe and healthy integration of relevant persons with society," the report highlighted.
The report emphasizes that any legislation must respect public conscience and social sensitivities while being clear, comprehensive and not subject to interpretation-based expansion.
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The commission called for full compliance with European Court of Human Rights and Constitutional Court rulings, noting Türkiye currently implements approximately 90% of ECtHR decisions compared to the 80% average among Council of Europe members.
"It is proposed that mechanisms ensuring full compliance with ECtHR and Constitutional Court decisions be strengthened, and effective new mechanisms be established," the report states.
The document recommends reviewing enforcement legislation based on ECtHR and Constitutional Court jurisprudence and international conventions, with particular attention to conditional release conditions and sentence durations under universal principles of criminal law.
For elderly and ill prisoners, the report states that "the reality that the right to life takes precedence over all other rights" should be considered when evaluating sentence deferrals.
On the contentious issue of government-appointed trustees replacing elected mayors, the report proposes that "when a mayor is removed from office for reasons specified in law, elections should be held only by the municipal council."
This recommendation addresses a practice that has seen dozens of elected mayors from pro-Kurdish parties replaced by state-appointed administrators.
The report calls for reviewing legislation to remove obstacles to the full exercise of fundamental rights and freedoms, which it describes as "innate, inviolable and inalienable."
Specific recommendations include revising the Law on Meetings and Demonstrations to expand rights while preserving their essence and reviewing press and broadcast laws to ensure criticism, objection, and demands within legal limits are protected as integral parts of democratic life.
The document proposes restructuring the Turkish Human Rights and Equality Institution to increase effectiveness and revising the Turkish Penal Code and Anti-Terror Law to strengthen freedom of expression within the principle of legal certainty.
New legislation on political parties, elections and political ethics is recommended in line with principles of transparency, democratic participation, intra-party democracy, pluralism and justice in representation.
Kurtulmus framed the commission's work within broader regional security concerns.
"Türkiye will continue to be a pioneer of peace in the region, contrary to global powers," he said.
"The complete elimination of terrorism and the establishment of a fully permanent environment of peace and tranquility stand before us as a historic responsibility," he added.
He said the natural alliance formed by Turks, Kurds, Arabs and other peoples in the region would defeat "the disintegration and fragmentation scenarios engineered by imperialists."
The report will be voted on by the commission following presentations by party representatives.
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