Devlet Bahçeli, head of government ally Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), who is credited with launching the terror-free Türkiye initiative, said there is no “turning back” in the plan and it has become “a national, historic goal.”
The initiative aims for the absolute disarmament of the terrorist group PKK, which has killed tens of thousands of people across the country since the 1980s.
The nationalist politician was one of the last names apparently to reach out to the PKK’s jailed ringleader, Abdullah Öcalan, to urge him to dissolve the terrorist group. Despite his hawkish stance against the PKK and Öcalan in the past, Bahçeli relented last year and said the elimination of the PKK with this new initiative will fully eradicate the scourge of terrorism in the country and solidify Turkish-Kurdish unity. Both Bahçeli and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan say the initiative is necessary in the face of rising threats in the region, namely from Israel. They call the PKK a proxy of imperialist forces aiming to destabilize the regional countries. The PKK is active in Iraq and Syria as well.
In an interview published by pro-MHP Türkgün on Tuesday, Bahçeli said any concession to the PKK or any hesitation on their side regarding the initiative was out of the question. “We burned the ships. Our determination is resilient and undisputed,” Bahçeli said.
Bahçeli’s call to Öcalan last year found a response from the PKK ringleader, who urged the PKK to dissolve itself. A few months later, the PKK obeyed and last summer, it started burning down weapons in a symbolic ceremony in northern Iraq. Most recently, the terrorist group announced it withdrew from Türkiye and Zap, a stronghold in Iraq. As Bahçeli’s remarks were published, the pro-PKK Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) announced that a delegation was dispatched to the island prison Imralı, where Öcalan is incarcerated, for a new round of talks with the terrorist leader. A DEM Party delegation has been a regular guest of Imralı since the initiative began, conveying Öcalan’s messages to the public. Recently, a Turkish parliamentary committee set up exclusively for the initiative also sent a delegation to the island for talks with Öcalan.
Bahçeli on Tuesday criticized those seeking to “provoke” the initiative and said their efforts would be futile. “No one has the right to squander this (opportunity). Any opposition to the initiative can be interpreted as a resistance to the nation and the state. We are on the threshold of a historic opportunity,” Bahçeli was quoted.
The veteran politician also criticized the remarks of Hülya Oran, a senior PKK member codenamed "Bese Hozat," who said the PKK cannot be granted amnesty as part of the initiative, as they did not “commit any crime.” Turkish authorities did not confirm any plans to grant a pardon for surrendering PKK members, but this will likely be the next step in the initiative. Bahçeli said Oran’s remarks were an attempt to sabotage the initiative.
