ANKARA: Turkey’s parliament yesterday approved a legal framework for peace talks with Kurdish militants in an important step towards ending a three-decade insurgency.
Turkey began peace talks with jailed Kurdish militant leader Abdullah Ocalan in 2012, in an effort to end a 30-year-old insurgency which has killed 40,000 people.
Until now, however, there have been few legal provisions for negotiating with Ocalan’s banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party — labelled a terrorist organisation by the Turkish authorities, European Union and United States.
The new law will shield from prosecution those involved in disarming and reintegrating Kurdish rebels, as well as giving legal protection to meetings aimed at ending the bloodshed.
REUTERS
