Turkey abolishes death penalty

Rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan on death row in Turkey

ANKARA, Turkey -- Turkey has abolished the death penalty in peacetime as part of a raft of reforms aimed at preparing the country for European Union membership.

Parliament voted through a package of reforms on Saturday that also included easing restrictions on the Kurdish rights and language and tightening laws against people smuggling. (Reform detail)

The package was rushed through parliament by pro-EU forces who wanted the legislation in place before elections, which were brought forward to November after the ruling coalition suffered a number of high-profile resignations.

Deputy Premier Mesut Yilmaz, whose party drafted the reform package: "Turkey has taken a giant step on the road to the EU."

The European Union's executive Commission said it welcomed the reforms "as an important signal of the determination of the majority of Turkey's political leaders towards further alignment to the values and standards of the European Union."

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It added, however, that the reform package needed to be "carefully analysed in order to fully assess its impact."

"Moreover, much will depend on its practical implementation that will be closely monitored in the months to come," it said in a statement, adding that it would present an assessment in the autumn.

Only the Nationalist Action Party (MHP) voted against the reforms after a 22-hour debate leaving the legislation just one step away from becoming law -- presidential ratification which is expected to be a formality.

The MHP feared the Kurdish rights clauses would mean giving in to the demands of Kurdish guerillas.

Nationalist lawmaker Bozkurt Yasar Ozturk: "We won't let those terrorists left in the mountains come down to the city and participate in (language) courses. Rather than putting out a fire, we're making it bigger."

The 14-point package legalises long-banned TV and radio broadcasts in the Kurdish language and allows Kurdish and other regional dialects to be taught in special courses.

It allows non-Muslim minority communities such as Greeks, Armenians and Jews greater rights over religious property such as churches and tightens regulations governing the police, who are frequently accused of human rights abuse.

The death penalty has not been used in Turkey since 1984 but dozens are on death row, most notably Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan, leader of the PKK (Kurdish Workers' Party) which fought a long drawn-out guerrilla conflict for greater rights.