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PKK leader warns Türkiye’s peace process could halt without democratic reforms

From Asharq Al-Awsat · () English

Translated from English and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • Cemil Bayık said a peace process centered on the PKK’s dissolution and disarmament could stop unless Türkiye takes concrete steps toward democratic reform.
  • He criticized a framework law on disarmament and integration as incomplete because it does not clearly link the surrender of arms to democratic measures.
  • The law provides for deferred sentences, suspended prosecutions and conditional returns for some PKK members, but reportedly excludes 230 senior figures.

Cemil Bayık, a member of the Kurdistan Communities Union’s executive council, has warned that the peace process between the PKK and Türkiye could come to a halt without democratic reform. The process, which the Turkish government calls “terrorism-free Türkiye”, centers on the group’s dissolution and disarmament.

Bayık said disarmament must lead into the democratic political arena and the integration of PKK members into Turkish society. He criticized the National Solidarity and Social Integration Law, passed by parliament on Aug. 10, as a beginning but said it remained incomplete. In remarks to the PKK-linked Firat News Agency carried by Turkish media, he said the law’s purpose was unclear because it did not expressly connect laying down arms with democratic measures.

The language used in the law is deeply flawed.

· Cemil BayıkHe criticized Türkiye’s framework law on PKK disarmament and integration.

“The language used in the law is deeply flawed,” Bayık said. He argued that the law should spell out the democratic steps required by disarmament, since weapons would be surrendered to allow entry into democratic politics.

We have made clear on every occasion that this process is not limited to disarmament.

· Cemil BayıkHe said the process must include democratic measures and political integration.

Bayık also identified the status of PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan and the group’s senior cadres as a major unresolved issue. He said excluding the leadership and many cadres involved in the process created a serious problem, including for those who might return to Türkiye.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan approved the law on Aug. 18. It provides deferred sentences, suspended prosecutions and conditional returns for PKK members who surrender their weapons. Information cited in the article says 230 senior figures are excluded and may instead be housed in a safe zone in Sulaimaniya, northern Iraq. Bayık said parliament would be decisive in addressing the Kurdish issue and called for constitutional and legal changes recognizing Kurdish existence, language, culture, political will and local self-government rights.

If this process does not advance through democratic steps, it will be obstructed, and the government will bear responsibility.

· Cemil BayıkHe warned that Türkiye’s government would be responsible if the process stalled.
About this summary

Originally published by Asharq Al-Awsat in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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