Parliament has postponed the 17th session of the National Solidarity, Brotherhood and Democracy Commission, which was expected to debate potentially high-profile issues, a statement announced on Wednesday.
A statement shared by the Office of the Parliament Speaker said that the commission’s 17th meeting, originally scheduled for Nov. 6, has been postponed to next week, noting that the new date, time and agenda will be announced later.
The delay came amid growing political attention to the commission’s agenda, which was expected to include a vote on whether a delegation should travel to Imralı Island, where the PKK leader, Abdullah Öcalan, has been serving a life sentence since 1999.
Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş met on Wednesday with parliamentary group leaders and representatives of several political parties. The closed-door meeting lasted about 90 minutes. Afterward, Republican People’s Party (CHP) Deputy Group Chair Murat Emir told reporters the delay was due to “technical reasons,” saying the session is now expected to take place next Thursday.
Emir said they discussed preparations for the commission’s report but disclaimed rumors that a decision regarding an Imralı visit had yet been made. Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) Deputy Group Chair Gülüstan Kılıç Koçyiğit added that the postponement was linked to ministers scheduled to attend who are currently abroad.
Meanwhile, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan underlined that Türkiye remains determined to build a terror-free future during the parliamentary group meeting of the Justice and Development Party (AK Party). "We continue our efforts without yielding to provocations or attempts to derail the process," he said.
He also noted that Türkiye has taken bold steps to free itself from a major burden and long-standing trouble that has afflicted the nation for nearly half a century, marking that the People’s Alliance has brought the country closer to a Türkiye without terrorism.
The Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and the DEM Party support the commission’s visit to Imralı Island, while the ruling AK Party has not yet made its position clear.
Last month, the MHP's leader, Devlet Bahçeli, said that a delegation of commission members should meet face-to-face with Öcalan, receive his messages firsthand and share them with the public. However, no specific comment came from Erdoğan himself.
The terror-free Türkiye initiative was launched last year by government ally MHP when Bahçeli implied that the government should facilitate access to Öcalan so that he could call on the PKK to lay down arms. Bahçeli’s proposal was endorsed by Erdoğan, who had earlier hinted at the initiative with messages of unity between Turks and Kurds.
Following the persistent calls for laying down arms, the terrorist group PKK announced on Oct. 26 that it had started withdrawing from Türkiye as part of the terror-free Türkiye initiative, months after it began abandoning arms in northern Iraq.
The group's disarmament is expected to be completed by the end of 2025.
