Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced that the legislation regarding the process will be brought to the parliamentary agenda in the coming days. Reports indicate that before being submitted to parliament, the draft Framework Law was sent to Imralı to receive Abdullah Öcalan’s evaluation, effectively removing obstacles in front of the process and granting a green light for the legal phase.
The main debates regarding the content of this law continue between the parties, focusing on the boundaries of its framework and the mechanisms of its implementation.
Return from Europe and Makhmour
According to information reported by Turkish media and Kurdish sources, the first legal package consists of three main components:
Exiled Politicians: Kurdish politicians forced into exile in Europe due to their political activities will return to Turkey during the first phase. This return is expected to strengthen the legal and political groundwork for the release of jailed politicians such as Selahattin Demirtaş and Figen Yüksekdağ.
Makhmour Camp: The return of civilians and families at the Makhmour Camp, who relocated there in the 1990s, will begin gradually under the supervision of commissions.
Detainees and Non-Combatant Fighters: Inmates who did not participate in armed actions and new recruits will be released under a 3-year judicial control plan.
Status of Ocalan and senior PKK leadership
One of the most intense debates surrounding the draft is the exclusion of senior PKK leadership and Abdullah Ocalan’s status from this package. PKK leadership had previously warned that any legislation functioning as a “repentance law” that leaves Ocalan out would not succeed.
However, recent reports indicate that Ocalan’s legal status and the “right to hope” will be addressed in a separate, subsequent legislative phase. At this stage, Ocalan’s working conditions at Imralı are set to expand, allowing meetings with delegations, journalists, and academics to enable him to guide the process from within.
