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The People’s Alliance, formed by the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party), has rejected reports of a divide. MHP leader Devlet Bahçeli and an AK Party spokesperson were among those affirming the continued alliance.
Bahçeli’s absence at events hosted by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan during Republic Day last month has fueled rumors of disagreements among the allies. Bahçeli told a parliamentary group meeting of his party on Tuesday that he had a “personal excuse” not to attend the event. The veteran politician slammed rumors and expressed the MHP’s commitment to the alliance.
He said their foes always looked for “cracks” in the alliance. “They are never tired,” he said. Bahçeli said those disturbed by the alliance formed for the sake of the motherland and the nation always “prophesized” a divide between the two parties. Among those were “main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), half-witted intellectuals, obsessed commentators and social media hitmen.”
“This is because they are not accustomed to such a virtuous alliance emerging in the dark night of July 15,” he said, referring to the 2016 coup attempt by the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ). The MHP officially formed an alliance with the AK Party after the coup bid, with Bahçeli making a landmark appearance at a pro-democracy rally with President Erdoğan in the aftermath of the attempt.
Bahçeli said it was quite natural that parties of the alliance had different world views, pasts and different interpretations of global developments and developments in Türkiye. The MHP leader recently called for the unification of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) with Türkiye after the election victory of Tufan Erhürman as Turkish Cypriot president. Erhürman’s earlier remarks embracing the idea of a federation with Greek Cypriots angered the nationalist politician, while the AK Party has adopted a warmer tone toward Erhürman’s election.
“But the People’s Alliance has a distinction, something people tend to overlook, and it is the underlying will which sustains love for Türkiye and the Turkish nation.
“Could it not have been due to a human circumstance?” Bahçeli asked. “Was it impossible that we faced a special situation that day? Perhaps it was an opportunity – like litmus paper – to see who would say what and reveal the speculations in their minds,” he said.
Bahçeli dismissed claims that his absence signaled a protest or disagreement with the government.
“Between the AK Party and us, there is not an incident, but a truth that binds both sides tightly. Those whose minds and consciences are held hostage by others cannot understand this.”
Bahçeli reaffirmed that the alliance would “continue its historic struggle and build the new century with unity of faith, purpose and ideals.”
His remarks found a quick reply from the AK Party. Minutes after Bahçeli’s speech, AK Party Deputy Chair and spokesperson Ömer Çelik said on social media that the People’s Alliance remains united toward the goals of the “Century of Türkiye.”
“Our strongest and most strategic response to the chaos scenarios around our country is the political will of the People’s Alliance,” Çelik said. “Under the determined leadership of our president and with the steadfast stance of Mr. Bahçeli, we continue to move forward.”
Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz also voiced support, saying the alliance “is not based on interests but on truth, shared values and ideals.” “It represents the main artery of democratic politics, the guarantee of our unity and brotherhood and the will of our nation to build a more prosperous and stronger future,” Yılmaz said.
Visit to Öcalan
The MHP leader is the architect of the terror-free Türkiye initiative that involves the disarmament of the terrorist group PKK. He surprised many when he openly reached out to the PKK’s jailed leader, Abdullah Öcalan, last year, urging them to spearhead the dissolution of the terrorist group. Öcalan, in turn, embraced the process apparently, and his messages to the PKK led to the first stages of disarmament earlier this year.
In his speech on Tuesday, Bahçeli warned those “trying to sabotage the goal of a terror-free Türkiye through provocation and manipulation.”
Bahçeli said Türkiye was “steadily advancing toward freeing itself from being associated with terrorism,” warning that those seeking to derail this process “will only become more vile as the ground beneath them slips away.”
In parallel with the disarmament process, a parliamentary committee is working on a report of guidelines for Parliament to take necessary legislative steps to advance the initiative. The committee, which was inaugurated last August, heard from people affected by the PKK violence, nongovernmental organizations, security officials, as well as relatives of PKK members.
Bahçeli said the committee had conducted “productive and responsible meetings” since Aug. 5. He proposed that lawmakers selected from the commission visit Imralı Island, where Öcalan is incarcerated, to hear firsthand opinions from the terrorist group’s ringleader.
“We are ready to participate in such a delegation,” Bahçeli said. “There is no need for fear or hesitation. Until now, Imralı has kept its word and stood by its statements,” he said. Bahçeli’s remarks are viewed as bombshell statements by political pundits, given his past, where he once advocated for the hanging of Öcalan.
But Bahçeli did not stop there in his speech and urged the release of his former political rival, Selahattin Demirtaş. Demirtaş is a former co-chair of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), a spiritual predecessor of the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), a pro-PKK party that acts as a messenger between Öcalan and Parliament. “His release will be beneficial for Türkiye,” he said.
Demirtaş was detained in November 2016 on terrorism-related charges. In May 2024, a court convicted him over the deadly 2014 riots the HDP incited and sentenced him to more than 40 years in prison. He also received a separate two-year sentence in 2021 for insulting the president.
The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has twice ruled that Demirtaş’s rights were violated and called for his immediate release. Ankara’s final appeal to the ECtHR ruling was rejected on Monday.
