Turkish parliament on the evening of the 10th (local time) passed a bill
establishing procedures, with judicial oversight, to disarm the PKK (Kurdistan
Workers' Party) and reintegrate its members, a move the government described as
significant progress toward ending a decades-long conflict. The law is not a
blanket amnesty but a conditional mechanism allowing eligible low-level PKK
members not involved in serious violent crimes to return from northern Iraq to
Turkey and undergo formal review. It excludes imprisoned leader Abdullah Ocalan,
senior PKK figures and members serving life or similarly heavy sentences.
