Legal basis created for terror-free Türkiye: Ömer Çelik
AK Party spokesperson Ömer Çelik speaks at a news conference, Ankara, Türkiye, Aug. 5, 2026. (AA Photo)


The ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) spokesperson Ömer Çelik hailed a law related to the terror-free Türkiye initiative that was approved by Parliament early Tuesday. Çelik told a news conference in Ankara on Tuesday that the Law on Strengthening National Solidarity and Social Cohesion established a legal framework for the initiative, which aims to disband the terrorist group PKK.

"Our goal now is a terror-free region,” Çelik, whose party made the landmark proposal for the framework law, said.

The spokesperson praised Parliament’s vote, saying it had done what it should have done on the matter. "Our president set out a clear road map. Terror-free Türkiye is state policy,” he said.

The initiative began informally in 2024, when government ally and Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli called on the jailed ringleader of the PKK to order his group to lay down its arms. Over time, the initiative received a positive response at the government level and was subsequently transformed into concrete steps.

Öcalan was allowed to communicate with a political party linked to the terrorist group and, through them, called on the PKK to dissolve itself in February 2025. The PKK agreed and announced its dissolution a few months later.