Parliament to vote on ex-ministers fate this week

This week Parliament will vote regarding whether former ministers Zafer Çağlayan, Muammer Güler, Erdoğan Bayraktar and Egemen Bağış will be sent the Supreme Court on charges of corruption. The parliamentary inquiry commission, which is comprised of 14 members representing the parties in Parliament, decided that there was no ground to send the former ministers to the Supreme Court to be tried on the corruption allegations.

The General Assembly will continue this week to discuss the establishment of a landmine clearance agency that will be tasked with removing 975,674 landmines in the country's border regions. Plans to restart the demining process come four years after the army demolished anti-personnel mines in its arsenal. The landmine clearance agency will be tasked with overseeing the clearance process by private companies. The agency will draft an action plan in cooperation with security agencies and relevant ministries for the work. Under regulations on the establishment of the agency, demining work can be carried out on the other side of the border if the government ratifies it.

Meanwhile, the parliamentary Security and Intelligence Commission will gather on Jan. 22 and the Undersecretariat of Public Order and Security is expected to give a presentation during the meeting. Also, on Jan. 21, the Committee on Violence against Women will meet. The Domestic Security Reform Package, which aims to establish a balance between public freedom and security while enhancing the civilian identity of the Turkish state, will continue to be discussed this week. The parliamentary Interior Affairs Commission will discuss modifications to some of the newly drafted reform packages on Jan. 20.