Terror-free Türkiye committee holds new meeting amid bill rumors

Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş chaired the third meeting of the National Solidarity, Brotherhood and Democracy Committee on Tuesday.

The sole working committee of the Parliament, which is currently in summer recess, aims to chart the road map for the terror-free Türkiye initiative. The initiative, which aims for complete disarmament of the PKK terrorist group, may continue with new bills to revoke the designation of the PKK as a terrorist group, some media reports claimed.

Making a brief speech before the meeting, Kurtulmuş said the committee was sincere in its work and desired that all committee decisions would be approved unanimously.

The committee first convened on Aug. 8 with the participation of lawmakers from most parties, including the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party), its ally Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) and the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), a key actor in the initiative due to its intricate links to the terrorist group. The AK Party, the DEM Party and the CHP presented additional members for the committee on Monday at the request of Kurtulmuş, as the opposition Good Party (IP) abstained from joining the now 51-member committee. The IP is among several small parties opposing the initiative.

Although it is not authorized to draft bills, the committee will issue recommendations to Parliament, which may subsequently discuss and adopt them as bills. One such proposal is on the status of the PKK. Media outlets reported that the ruling party would suggest redefining the PKK as “a terrorist organization in the process of dissolution and disarmament,” and that might further accelerate the initiative that began last year.

The committee’s second meeting was closed to the press and held in secrecy, as lawmakers heard from Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya, National Defense Minister Yaşar Güler and National Intelligence Organization (MIT) Chair Ibrahim Kalın on Friday. At the third meeting, the committee is expected to discuss whether to embark on “field trips” to assess the initiative, especially to southeastern Türkiye, which suffered heavily from PKK terrorism, especially in areas with a large Kurdish population. PKK jailed leader Abdullah Öcalan has also sought to meet the members of the committee, but this will not likely occur, as the past stages of the initiative demonstrated. Öcalan was originally supposed to be allowed to speak at Parliament to urge his group to lay down arms as part of the initiative, but this was ruled out. He was allowed to issue a message to be conveyed by DEM Party lawmakers for the dissolution of the PKK. He is held in an island prison in the Marmara Sea with a small group of other convicts from the PKK.

The committee is expected to wrap up work by the end of this year, though this may be extended based on developments.

Media reports stated that the AK Party planned to introduce a separate law, rather than amend the counterterrorism laws, exclusively for this initiative. The current Turkish Penal Code has no articles on the dissolution of terrorist groups, although past amendments and regulations allowed lenient sentences for surrendered terrorists. The planned bill will also serve as a guideline for the dissolution of other terrorist groups, media reports say.

Gülistan Kılıç Koçyiğit, deputy parliamentary group chair of the DEM Party, told reporters on Tuesday that the committee should ensure legal ground for the process and “those conducting it.” Speaking at a news conference at Parliament, Koçyiğit said the sides of the “process” should work on the integration of PKK members into “political and social life.”

“We are glad that the committee embarked on a path. Every sincere initiative for a democratic and peaceful solution to the Kurdish question will contribute to advancing democracy in Türkiye. We are ready to do our best responsibly for advancing the process in a constructive way,” she said.

‘Eternal brotherhood’

Güler was in the southeastern province of Hakkari, which was once a flashpoint with frequent counterterrorism operations and PKK attacks around the same time the committee convened. Speaking at an event there, Güler said the terror-free Türkiye initiative was a historic step toward ensuring permanent peace and prosperity in the country, particularly in the southeastern region long affected by terrorism.

“This comprehensive step toward peace, unity and prosperity will strengthen our national security and solidify the eternal brotherhood of our people,” Güler said on Tuesday.

“Hakkari has always stood strong against adversity with the majesty of its towering mountains,” he said. “However, for years, our city has suffered under the shadow of terrorism, which has stunted its development and prevented it from realizing its full potential. Terror has not only physically impacted the region but has also deeply harmed the socio-economic fabric.”

Güler credited the Turkish Armed Forces, gendarmerie, police, local security guards and citizens for significant achievements in the fight against terrorism. With improved security, he noted, investments and welfare in the region have begun to increase.

“Terror has negatively affected every citizen of our nation for decades, causing great suffering,” he said. “It has hindered our country’s strength and prosperity, forcing Türkiye to divert resources away from vital investments toward combating terrorism, making huge economic sacrifices.” The minister emphasized that the government is working intensively through all institutions to eradicate the traces of terrorism from the region and ensure that the area is recognized for its development and natural wealth, rather than conflict.

He acknowledged that the current environment of peace was not easily achieved and was made possible by the sacrifice of soldiers, veterans and civilians who resisted terrorism and supported the state. He said the process has brought the terrorist group to the brink of disarmament.

Elsewhere, the chairperson of the main opposition CHP, Özgür Özel, met with members of associations representing terror victims and families of security personnel killed by the PKK. Speaking at the meeting in Ankara on Tuesday, Özel defended their decision to join the parliamentary committee, although some in his party opposed it.

“We braced for criticism, but we acted so that we would not have more martyrs,” Özel said. He said the initiative should not move forward without hearing the concerns of terror victims and their families. “We should act in such a way that would not push those families to think that their losses and sacrifices were in vain and at the same time, should end terrorism forever,” he said, adding that the initiative should remain on “democratization ground.” He said they were in the committee to “ensure that no secret bargains were made” with the PKK.

The PKK started laying down weapons last month through a ceremony in northern Iraq’s Sulaymaniyah. Thirty members of the group, including senior leader Bese Hozat, burned their weapons in a cauldron in a well-publicized ceremony. Since then, little has been heard from the group except statements by some PKK leaders expressing dissatisfaction with the group’s decision to dissolve itself.

A report by Sabah newspaper published on Saturday says disarmament continues in secrecy, and Turkish officials closely monitor it and record the sites where arms were abandoned. Türkiye expects the process of disarmament to move forward faster than examples abroad, such as the disarmament of the ETA in Spain or the IRA in Ireland.

Soon, authorities expect the evacuation of Makhmur and Sinjar, both occupied by the PKK, sites that have hosted both members’ families and armed members of the terrorist group. The Makhmur camp is the oldest for PKK members and was set up in 1998 in the eponymous town. It primarily housed PKK sympathizers who left Türkiye in the 1990s, as well as dangerous PKK members. Unconfirmed media reports say the PKK’s jailed leader, Abdullah Öcalan, sent a message to residents of the camp and urged them to prepare for imminent evacuation. The report by Sabah says families hailing from Türkiye who lived in Makhmur under the control of the PKK would be allowed to return home.

Türkiye is considering reintegration measures for PKK members not involved in any crimes and who volunteered to abandon arms, according to the Sabah report, but more than three dozen members of the group of senior cadres and some 300 members in lower ranks will not be allowed to return to Türkiye. These include PKK terrorists known to authorities and involved in masterminding or participating in acts of terrorism. Türkiye will allow them to stay in Iraq or Syria for a while, but a permanent stay after the PKK’s complete disarmament is out of question, according to the reports. The Sabah report also says they would be “advised” to leave for Europe or some African countries with good ties with Türkiye.