Symbolic imageRelief and doubt in Kurdish southeast after Turkey's PKK dissolution vote
Turkey's parliament approved the law dissolving the PKK in the early hours of Tuesday. In the Kurdish southeast, the conditional pardons drew relief and doubt.
The Law on Strengthening National Solidarity and Social Cohesion defers prosecution and sentencing for members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, which announced its dissolution in 2025 after its jailed leader Abdullah Ocalan called for it. Daily Sabah counted 467 votes in favour in the 600-seat chamber, The National 468 of 562 deputies present; the ruling AK Party cast 268 and its ally MHP 44. Only the Good Party called the initiative a concession to the PKK. The National puts the 40-year conflict's death toll at at least 40,000.
Relief, joy and doubt
The Hindu reports that Turkiye's Kurdish region greeted the conditional pardon with relief, joy and doubt. The PKK and some Kurdish civilians had demanded the release of Ocalan, jailed since 1999, but The National writes it was not immediately clear whether the law covers him.
Parliament breaks for recess
Lawmakers began a summer recess on Tuesday, postponed from 1 July, closing a term with 21 bills passed, Daily Sabah reports. They return on 1 October.
Other opinions
The government-aligned Daily Sabah frames the vote as a democratic milestone and calls the PKK a terrorist group; The National stresses that disarming its affiliates in Syria, Iran and Iraq is not clear-cut.