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President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan met with political party leaders Wednesday during a reception marking the opening of Parliament’s 28th legislative term, where discussions centered on the newly proposed National Solidarity, Brotherhood and Democracy Commission.
The gathering, hosted by Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş, brought together Erdoğan, Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) Chairman Devlet Bahçeli, opposition Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) Co-Chairs Tülay Hatımoğulları and Tuncer Bakırhan, Democracy and Progress Party (DEVA) Chair Ali Babacan, Gelecek (Future) Party Chair Ahmet Davutoğlu, Saadet (Felicity) Party Chair Mahmut Aslan, HÜDAPAR Chair Zekeriya Yapıcıoğlu and other senior political figures. Former parliament speakers also attended the reception.
The commission was raised as a key topic in the leaders’ exchange, highlighting efforts to promote unity, inclusivity and dialogue within Türkiye’s political landscape.
The committee aims to conclude soon, presumably before the end of the year.
The committee tasked with drafting a road map for the terror-free Türkiye plan will host primary actors of the initiative, including the chief of the intelligence service, to oversee the disarmament of the PKK terrorist group.
So far, 91 people from diverse backgrounds have addressed the committee, which first convened in August, with the participation of lawmakers from both the ruling party and opposition parties. It was the only functioning body of the Parliament that was in summer recess and will continue working after Parliament returns from the recess this week.
Although not without arguments and heated debates, the committee was a rare occasion where bickering parties maintained unity and people with sharply contrasting views had a platform to raise their voice.
The terror-free Türkiye initiative was suggested by MHP leader Bahçeli last year, in a bid to end more than 40 years of the campaign of terrorism by the PKK. The MHP, a government ally, proposed giving the floor to the PKK’s jailed leader, Abdullah Öcalan, in Parliament so that he would publicly call on the PKK to lay down arms. The proposal did not move forward that way, though. Instead, Öcalan has held repeated talks with a delegation of lawmakers from the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), which is linked to his terrorist group. These talks led to a call from Öcalan from prison in February, which was unveiled to the public by the DEM Party. The PKK responded soon, and last July, it began literally burning its weapons at a ceremony in northern Iraq. Since then, the initiative has been shrouded in secrecy, except for the work of the parliamentary committee.
The initiative aims to tackle the issue at a time of new regional opportunities and threats for Türkiye.
The plan focuses on persuading the terrorist group to lay down arms, while future steps will likely depend on the actions of the PKK and its affiliates, from the DEM Party to the Syrian wing of the group that grew in strength after the unrest began in the neighboring country in 2011.
Bahçeli, a veteran politician who had long advocated for increased pressure on the PKK through military means, signaled the new initiative when he unexpectedly shook hands with lawmakers from the DEM Party on Oct. 1, 2024, during the start of the new legislative term at Parliament. Until then, Bahçeli had been a staunch opponent of the DEM Party’s alignment with the PKK.
