Kurtulmuş ties PKK law to disarmament: "Law won't apply until the group dissolves"
Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş said implementation of the law passed under the "Terror-Free Turkey" process depends on the PKK laying down its arms. He also announced that a monitoring commission will be set up quickly once parliament reconvenes.
RastinewsSpeaker of the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM) Numan Kurtulmuş said at a briefing ahead of the new legislative year that the PKK must lay down its arms for the law tied to the process to take effect.
"The law will not be implemented until the group's dissolution is secured," Kurtulmuş said. "Once parliament reconvenes, the monitoring commission will be set up quickly and will carry out its responsibility to track the process. For the law to be implemented, the group must lay down its arms."
Kurtulmuş said the process has "taken concrete shape," adding: "We will see a Turkey built on high democratic standards, entirely free of terrorism."
Parliament reconvenes October 1
The TBMM will open its 5th legislative year of the 28th term with a special session on Thursday, October 1. The monitoring commission Kurtulmuş referred to is expected to be among the first items on the agenda this term.
Kurtulmuş also addressed talk of early elections at the briefing. "This is not the time or place for early election debates," he said, adding that parliament is preparing for elections to be held on schedule.
The remarks came at a briefing on the new legislative year, according to Rûdaw.
Dissolution and disarmament process
PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan called on the group to disarm and dissolve itself in a message released on February 27, 2025.
The PKK announced after a congress in May 2025 that it had decided to end its organizational existence. In July 2025, a group of PKK members burned their weapons in a ceremony held in Sulaymaniyah.
A commission was established within the TBMM in August 2025 to lay the legal groundwork for the process.