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Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş launched the weekly meetings of the National Solidarity, Brotherhood and Democracy Committee of Parliament on Wednesday. The sixth meeting hosted representatives of the Union of Turkish Bar Associations and jurists as the committee charts a road map for the terror-free Türkiye initiative.
The initiative aims to end PKK terrorism, which has largely succeeded as the terrorist group announced laying down arms last month and burning down weapons in a well-publicized ceremony in northern Iraq.
On Thursday, the committee will hear from previous speakers of Parliament.
Inaugurating the new session of the committee, Kurtulmuş said that it was inevitable that the initiative would necessitate new legal statutes.
The “Terror-free Türkiye” initiative was proposed by Devlet Bahçeli, leader of the government’s ally, the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), last year. Bahçeli originally urged the “possibility of a right of hope” for the PKK’s jailed ringleader, Abdullah Öcalan, in exchange for a call to the PKK to lay down arms. In a few months, this invitation to Öcalan took the shape of the initiative, and Öcalan, who was jailed for life, consented to instruct the terrorist group to dissolve itself. The PKK began disarmament last month and is expected to abandon arms completely by the end of 2025.
The initiative moved forward unilaterally, mostly with the PKK, already facing imminent wipeout due to intense counterterrorism operations, bowing down. But the future of the group’s members and their “post-terrorism” lives is a key part of the process. Türkiye considers leniency in sentences for surrendering PKK members if they are not involved in terror attacks, according to unconfirmed reports, though the next steps by Türkiye are mainly unknown.
Kurtulmuş said they valued the opinions of Türkiye’s jurist community, and their committee aimed to increase public approval for the initiative. He lamented the fact that some bar associations abstained from joining the committee’s meeting, citing primary bar associations in Izmir, Istanbul and Ankara.
The speaker noted that the committee had a significant responsibility and they were aiming to build a unique model (to end terrorism). “Having public support is essential to achieve this and we have to ensure participation of various segments of society in this initiative,” he said.
Observations by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party), which launched “public meetings” to explain the initiative earlier this month, indicate that the staunch support for the initiative by Erdoğan and Bahçeli, a hard-line nationalist who once proposed the execution of Öcalan, instilled a sense of public trust in the initiative. A large majority of people want the weapons to “go silent” and for the resumption of peace and brotherhood in the country, according to AK Party sources quoted by the Sabah newspaper.
Kurtulmuş said they were assessing the proposals presented to the committee by earlier guests of the committee, referring to families of martyrs killed by the PKK, as well as parents of PKK terrorists pursuing “peace.”
“Last week, people from different backgrounds who have experienced the pains of the recent past expressed a shared perspective here. What the Diyarbakır Mothers, the Saturday Mothers, the Peace Mothers, the relatives of martyrs and veterans all said was: ‘We have paid the price, but the children of this nation should no longer have to. We have buried our children in the ground; now let us bury our weapons in the ground,’” Kurtulmuş said.
“In order to increase our positive contributions, we must be cautious with what we say and work to strengthen the support that emerges in the public sphere. This model is truly unique to Türkiye. A remarkable amount of progress has been made in just nine months. When compared to peace processes in other countries, where it takes five to six years to reach a certain stage, we have arrived at that point in just nine months,” he said.
On Tuesday, Bahçeli said in a written statement on the occasion of the anniversary of the Battle of Malazgirt (Manzikert) that Türkiye had a “golden opportunity ahead” and it should not be “squandered.” “We should not hurt that sentiment of brotherhood under the umbrella of this nation. Terror-free Türkiye will bring together past and future, combine the era of conquests and (spirit) of victory in Malazgirt, and it will bolster (Türkiye’s vision for the new century) with peace, calm and brotherhood,” he said.
He emphasized that the sinister and detestable schemes of those who fear the existence of the Turkish nation, its unity and its brotherly coexistence, as well as its shared joys and sorrows, are continuously being updated, sometimes expanded and generalized. “Despite countless plots and traps that never cease, diminish or end, the spiritual legacy of Malazgirt and the noble stance crystallized in the Great Offensive remain unshaken,” he said, referring to the anniversary of a crucial part of the Turkish War of Independence that paved the way for the establishment of the modern-day Republic of Türkiye.
“The historical fabric of Malazgirt, passed down as a legacy from generation to generation, the nature that changes the ill fate and undoubtedly the victorious flame burning like embers in national hearts are working hand in hand with the determined steps toward a Türkiye free of terrorism and the solid initiatives that will shape our destiny. I sincerely believe that the conquest-minded spirit concentrated at Malazgirt, which does not concern itself with people’s language or origin but bases itself on the common values embraced by wise and clear-headed will, will not let the magnificent call and victorious face of our revered ancestors fall to the ground,” he said.
