ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – The Turkish parliament is set to convene on Monday to vote on a 12-point framework bill to advance the peace process between Ankara and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), days after it was approved by the legislature’s Justice Committee.

The bill was approved by the Justice Committee on Saturday after 18 hours of heated discussions, with the ultranationalist Good (IYI) Party objecting to several provisions of the draft, according to pro-Kurdish Mezopotamya Agency, before it was ultimately approved by the committee.

Turkey’s state-owned Anadolu Agency said the country’s parliament will convene at 11:00 am on Monday to discuss the Strengthening National Solidarity and Social Integration bill.

According to previous reports by the Anadolu Agency, the bill’s provisions will apply to those who notify authorities in writing “of their intention to benefit from these provisions” within six months of the National Security Council confirming that the PKK has completely ended its operations, surrendered its weapons and ammunition, and “ceased their actual existence.”

The bill does not establish a general amnesty for former PKK fighters. Instead, it aims to establish legal procedures for matters involving the postponement of certain sentences and the handling of ongoing prosecutions, according to state media.

The law also excludes crimes committed before 2005 that carried a death sentence or life imprisonment, as well as intentional killings committed as part of organizational activities, said Abdulhamit Gull, deputy chairman of Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), during the Justice Committee meeting, according to the Turkish parliament.

While expressing support for the move, however, lawmakers from the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) criticized several provisions in the bill. 

Lawmaker Zulkuf Ucar called for the removal of exception provisions, with Mezopotamya Agency quoting him as saying that the law should be “revised to cover everyone,” while Gulcan Kacmaz, another DEM parliamentarian, told Rojava’s (northeast Syria) ANHA that the bill was “insufficient, with many flaws and deficiencies.” 

The developments come after nearly six months of limited progress regarding enacting the legal framework for the peace process that was initially signed in parliament earlier in the year, despite the PKK having agreed to dissolve itself and evacuate multiple of its military bases over that timeframe.

The PKK on Sunday criticized the bill, saying it “carries serious mistakes and inadequacies” in a statement carried by affiliated media.

“The fact that it only mentions disarmament without using the term ‘Kurd’ indicates that the issue is not addressed holistically. In addition to serious deficiencies in the content, the language and concepts used are also a serious problem for a law aiming for peace,” the PKK said.