Turkish bill to support ''Kurdish solution'' enacted

A reform to support Turkey's 'solution process' in the decades-old Kurdish conflict has come into effect, the government's Official Gazette has reported.

The bill to "end terrorism and strengthen social integration" will provide a framework for the government to negotiate with the terrorist organization PKK.

The six-article draft bill to support the ongoing initiative to end violence and improve minority rights was passed by the Turkish assembly on July 10 and ratified by President Abdullah Gul on Tuesday.

"The new legislation to boost the Kurdish solution process will open a new door to end terrorism," Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said last week as he presented his vision document for the presidential campaign in Istanbul. Erdogan is the ruling Justice and Development Party's candidate in next month's presidential election.

Opposition republican People''s Party and pro-Kurdish People''s Democratic Party voted in favor of the bill, too. The Nationalist Movement Party, who claimed it was a tactic to win Kurdish votes, strongly opposed the bill.

Turkey's solution process began early last year with a ceasefire between the government and the outlawed PKK that is listed as a terrorist organization in the U.S. and EU. Due to political sensitivity the PKK is not named in the new legislation.

At the time the government pledged democratic reforms to empower minorities, particularly the Kurdish minority, which forms 18 percent of the Turkish population.

The bill comprises the following measures:

- The government is to determine the necessary political, judicial, socio-economic and cultural steps to be taken to end terrorism and strengthen social cohesion.

- It allows the government to assign authority to those who "make contact, establish dialogue and meet with individuals, institutions and organizations both inside and outside the country."

- It provides a pathway for those who disarm to return home and be reintegrated into society.

- It will provide the public with fast and accurate information about the process.

- It will monitor the outcomes and coordinate with the relevant groups and institutions.

- Necessary works will be done to introduce new legislation if necessary.