MERDE, Turkey — The ongoing Peace and Democratic Society Process in Turkey has raised hopes among the country’s Suroyo (Syriac–Aramean–Assyrian–Chaldean) community, particularly for greater democratic freedoms, a possible return to ancestral lands, and a reckoning with past abuses, according to Evgil Türker, President of the Federation of Syriac Associations (SÜDEF), in an interview with ANF News. Türker said the process, which gained momentum following the Call for Peace and Democratic Society, could have significant implications for minorities.

ANKARA — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has approved legislation granting conditional amnesty to thousands of Kurdish militants as part of the Turkish government’s efforts to end its decades-long conflict with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (Partiya Karkerên Kurdistanê, PKK). The legislation was published in Turkey’s Official Gazette on Tuesday. Its provisions will take effect once the country’s National Security Council confirms that the PKK has fully ended its activities and disbanded, alongside verification of its disarmament process.

ANKARA — Abdullah Ocalan, the imprisoned leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), said developments in western Syria and the wider Middle East should be viewed in the context of Turkey’s efforts to advance a peace and democratization process, members of a delegation from the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) said following a meeting with him at Imralı prison on Sunday.

ANKARA — Turkish authorities detained 39 people on Tuesday in a coordinated operation targeting left-wing and socialist organizations across 10 provinces, prompting opposition groups to accuse the government of undermining the country’s emerging “Peace and Democratic Society Process” through continued pressure on political and civic actors. The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office said the operation targeted what it described as left-wing and socialist organizations.

ANKARA — After seven years of imprisonment, former Omid (Amed / Diyarbakır) Metropolitan Municipality Co-Mayor Selçuk Mızraklı has been released. His release coincides with renewed signs of movement in Turkey’s broader efforts to end decades of armed conflict, with parliament speaker Numan Kurtulmuş saying the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) had begun the process of laying down its arms. Mızraklı, a prominent Kurdish politician, was…

Based on reporting by Matay Türker ANKARA — The Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) in Turkey re-elected Tülay Hatimoğulları and Tuncer Bakırhan as its co-chairs at its 5th Ordinary Congress in Ankara on Sunday and reaffirmed its support for an ongoing resolution process and broader democratic reforms. The congress, held at the Nazım Hikmet Cultural Center, brought together around 600 delegates as well as representatives from various political parties.