Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş is cautiously optimistic about the terror-free Türkiye initiative to end years of PKK terrorism. Also the chair of the Parliament’s terror-free committee, formally known as the National Solidarity, Brotherhood and Democracy Committee, Kurtulmuş came together with representatives of Turkish media outlets on Saturday.
“This is not like 2013 or any other process,” Kurtulmuş was quoted by journalists, referring to government-sponsored efforts in the past to end PKK terrorism. The “reconciliation process,” as it was known, sought to curb the PKK’s influence on the Kurdish community and address the rights issues the terrorist group exploited. It ultimately collapsed in a few years, but Türkiye pursues a more dedicated approach to the matter now as part of the initiative launched in 2024. Unlike the previous process, where the PKK consented to a unilateral “truce,” the group this time agreed to dissolve itself. Yet, full dissolution is yet to be confirmed.
Kurtulmuş said another failure in ending the existence of the PKK would inflict a heavy toll on “politics.” “We may face a direr situation. We are now going through times of conflict in the region, and there are circles ready to stoke the burning fire,” he said.
He said the initiative was mainly shaped as a response to the developments in the region, referring to calls by its architects, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and government ally Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli to create a “home front” to confront the threats. “Nothing is incidental in this region. The process, which began with the U.S. invasion of Iraq, triggered another process for ethnic and sectarian divide. Many countries suffered as a consequence. We have to revert this. Türkiye paid a heavy toll in terrorism and we have to act swiftly. Zionism is raising the stakes and we cannot ignore this. They try to deal a final blow to the region. They tried it with civil wars in Lebanon and Syria, they tried it with swift regime changes in the region. They planned the final stage of their plan by targeting Gaza. The Greater Israel Project’s main target is Türkiye. So, we have to reinforce the country, the home front,” he said.
Kurtulmuş hailed that the committee he chaired managed to agree on a joint text that will serve as a road map for Parliament on taking the next steps in the terror-free Türkiye initiative. Parliament is expected to introduce new bills or amend the laws to facilitate the disarmament of the terrorist group. Kurtulmuş said the legislation process should be swift, adding that the issue would likely be on the agenda of Parliament after the upcoming Muslim holiday Eid al-Fitr or Ramadan Bayram. He stated that confirmation of the PKK’s full disarmament by Turkish security forces was a precondition for legislative steps. “Once this is confirmed, the legal regulations may be implemented,” he said.
He noted that Türkiye already had laws for offering lenient sentencing for members of terrorist groups cooperating with authorities. “But it is the first time that a terrorist group has decided to dissolve itself. Thus, we need new regulations. We agreed on legal proceedings for members of the group if they apply for lenient sentencing or parole, to have a court record. This will prevent the perception that (PKK members) would benefit from an amnesty. Sentencing will remain, but they will be released based on parole conditions if they turn themselves in and renounce membership of PKK,” he said.
Kurtulmuş said one of the most important gains in the initiative has been that all political parties were able to gather around the same table and “reach a conclusion through a very mature democratic negotiation method.” He said this may be the reason that the initiative has been successful so far. “(Presidents and Prime Ministers) Süleyman Demirel, Turgut Özal, Necmettin Erbakan and Erdal Inönü pursued similar initiatives to end PKK terrorism. They succeeded to an extent but ultimately, they failed. Among several factors contributing to the failures was the lack of a political unity,” he said. As for “other factors,” Kurtulmuş gave examples about the recent reconciliation process. “Just when it seemed that a result would almost be achieved, the process was poisoned, be it by killings of Sakine Cansız and others or leaking of the Oslo talks,” he said, referring to murders of top PKK figures in Paris in 2013 and the controversial leak of talks between Turkish officials and PKK-linked names in Norway. “FETÖ members and other elements in the state played a role in undermining that process,” Kurtulmuş said, in reference to the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ), which had infiltrators in almost every state institution and tried to overthrow the government in 2016 with a military coup attempt.
“One of the most important advantages of the current process is that all institutions and organizations of the state are moving in the same direction and the process is continuing with strong coordination,” Kurtulmuş said.
