Turkey's Kurdish southeast greets PKK pardon law with hope and caution

Residents across Turkey's predominantly Kurdish southeast responded with a blend of relief, optimism, and skepticism on Tuesday after parliament approved a conditional pardon for thousands of Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) militants. The legislation, passed with an overwhelming majority on Monday, is designed to support a fragile peace process following the group's announcement last year that it would disarm.

The law's provisions will only take effect after Turkish authorities confirm the PKK has fully disarmed. In Diyarbakir, the region's largest city, many welcomed the prospect of an end to a conflict that spanned more than four decades and claimed thousands of lives.

Ali Akdogan, a 70-year-old retiree, said he was overjoyed by the news. "I was really very happy. I even applauded in my own home," he said, adding that he expected the peace to boost the local economy. "The economy will improve, good things will happen, people will start doing business."

Others, while acknowledging the significance of the move, expressed caution about its limits. Hasan Gecti, a 56-year-old shop owner, said the stability could bring economic and social benefits but noted that core Kurdish demands remain unaddressed. These include broader use of the Kurdish language in education and public services, as well as an end to the government's practice of replacing elected mayors with appointed officials.

"Has the Kurdish issue been directly solved? That's a bit of a question mark. In my opinion, only the terrorism problem has been solved," Gecti said. "Unfortunately, the Kurdish issue still remains where it is."

The PKK, which launched its insurgency in the 1980s, declared last year that it would dissolve itself following a call from its imprisoned leader, Abdullah Ocalan. The group has since staged a symbolic disarmament ceremony at its base in northern Iraq and announced the withdrawal of fighters from key locations in Turkey.

The new legislation suspends prison sentences for convicted PKK members and postpones investigations and trials for five or ten years, depending on the severity of the alleged offenses. Cases will be dropped if no terror-related crime is committed within that period. Turkish media reports suggest thousands of members, including those in exile in Europe and based in Iraq and Syria, could benefit.

However, militants convicted of intentional killings and those sentenced to life terms before 2005 are excluded from the bill's provisions. This applies to Ocalan and other senior PKK figures.

Mehmet Kaya, head of the Diyarbakir Chamber of Trade and Industry, welcomed the bipartisan support for the legislation. "It signals that violence is ending and the doors of politics are opening," he said, while cautioning that the law alone does not resolve the Kurdish issue. "If the steps taken from now bring sustainable democratization, social policies, and economic policies develop — which is the expectation — then the region will go through an important phase."

In a statement carried by the PKK-linked ANF news outlet, the group described the Turkish legislation as a "beginning" but said it "has serious shortcomings and deficiencies." It reiterated calls for Ocalan's release, democratic reforms, and Kurdish rights.