Addressing a gathering of his Justice and Development Party (AK Party) on Sunday, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said that they were on the threshold of saving the nation from the shackles of terrorism, referring to the terror-free Türkiye initiative. He said Türkiye would be stronger in terms of security as well as economy with the end of terrorism.
The PKK terrorist group began laying down arms on Friday, a development hailed by Erdoğan in a historic speech on Saturday. In Sunday’s speech, Erdoğan said Ankara is hoping to have tangible results about the parliamentary committee that is set to be founded in the coming days to oversee the initiative.
The president also criticized opposition politicians and others opposing the initiative. “No one has a right to undermine (the terror-free Türkiye initiative), the nation won’t forgive efforts to hinder it,” he said.
He stated that the AK Party, along with government ally Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), and the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), which relayed PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan’s messages to the terrorist group, were determined to bring the initiative to a successful conclusion.
On Saturday, Erdoğan addressed the nation at the same meeting and called for full support for the disarmament process.
Thirty PKK terrorists burned their weapons at the mouth of a cave in northern Iraq on Friday, marking a symbolic but significant step toward ending decadeslong violence that killed over 40,000 people in Türkiye.
Today is a new day; a new page has opened in history," Erdoğan said on Saturday.
In the same speech, he said the recent steps have united the nation, and now Parliament will play a critical role in setting up a legal framework for completing the disarmament process. "I hope that our Parliament will support this process with the broadest possible participation," Erdoğan said.
Erdoğan described the terrorist group's decision to lay down arms as a victory for Türkiye, stating that Turks, Kurds, Arabs – all 86 million citizens –emerged as winners. Underlining a broader vision of regional unity, Erdoğan also said: "Today, the spirit of Malazgirt, the Jerusalem alliance, and the core of the War of Independence are being reshaped," referring to past victories of Türkiye with the unity of Turks, Kurds and Arabs against common enemies.
In Saturday's speech, he further noted that the scope of the initiative extends beyond Türkiye's borders, stressing that a terror-free Türkiye is not only an issue for Kurdish citizens at home but also for Kurdish communities in Iraq and Syria, with the process actively discussed with them.
