The terror-free Türkiye initiative launched by Devlet Bahçeli, leader of government ally Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), is expected to enter its final or penultimate stage this month. Speculations abound about the date of an expected call by Abdullah Öcalan, the jailed leader of the PKK terrorist group, to his group to lay down arms. But it will most likely take place this month, marking the anniversary of Öcalan’s capture.
According to a report by the Sabah newspaper, the state is clear on the process and says it will only take steps to address any request by the terrorist group after it lays down arms.
A delegation of lawmakers from the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM) held two meetings with Öcalan at Imralı, the island in the Marmara Sea where the PKK leader is imprisoned. The last meeting is expected to take place later this month, and it will likely be the final meeting for Öcalan, who was not allowed visits frequently before the start of the terror-free Türkiye initiative. The chief terrorist had expressed his willingness to reach out to his group and urge them to abandon arms, according to previous messages he conveyed through DEM lawmakers.
Authorities, the DEM Party and Öcalan are working to iron out details on the historic call, according to the Sabah report. Apart from the date, these details include the form of the call, whether it would be a video message or a written one. Bahçeli urged last year that Öcalan should speak at the parliamentary group meeting of DEM, which is associated with the terrorist group, and make the call there. The same report says Öcalan already penned a letter addressing the terrorist group last week, though it was not delivered yet.
The initiative is expected to work unilaterally with the state not backing down on its condition that the PKK should lay down arms first before drafting a possible road map on what will happen next, the report says. Authorities also rule out any negotiation with the terrorist group, which has claimed thousands of lives across the country since the 1980s. Both Bahçeli and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, primary supporters of the initiative, have ruled out any negotiation or compromise. The DEM Party seeks to obtain a legal basis for the process, but the government is unwilling unless the PKK takes the first step of disarmament.
Once the PKK accepts laying down arms, the state may consider a series of steps, according to the Sabah report. These include the possibility of commuting sentences of sick and elderly people convicted of PKK-linked crimes to house arrest, legal amendments in counterterrorism laws in the Turkish penal code, and amendments in laws regarding the appointment of trustees to entities such as municipalities in terrorism-related investigations. Bahçeli had suggested the “right to hope” for Öcalan. Öcalan was sentenced to life and the “right to hope” involves a legal amendment that, as the name suggests, gives hope to a life prisoner for a possible release in the future. This, however, does not grant immediate eligibility for parole.
Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunç told broadcaster Habertürk on Friday that the date of Öcalan’s call was not clear and highlighted that they are not “a party to the process.” “It is between the terrorist leader and the terrorist group,” he said. Tunç said the terrorist group has never been a party of interest to discuss the matter for us and they would never negotiate with the PKK. Tunç also assured that Türkiye would never take a step that would offend families of victims of PKK terrorism. “This is simply a process to end terrorism,” he said.
Öcalan’s call will certainly depend on the response of its group, whose leadership is hiding out in northern Iraq. Colloquially known as “Qandil” after the mountainous region where they have hideouts, these cadres will likely have a mixed response to the call and this may even lead to a divide in the terrorist group.
Last week, Tuncer Bakırhan, co-chair of the DEM Party, said Öcalan was "preparing the formula for an 'honorable' solution to the 'Kurdish question.'” The PKK, whose victims include countless civilians of Kurdish background, claims to be fighting for the rights of the Kurdish community and the establishment of a self-styled Kurdish state in Türkiye. "We don't know its exact content, but we know it will include a message regarding a democratic response to the 'Kurdish question,'" he said. The government rejects the definition of the process as a solution to the so-called Kurdish question and says Kurds have been an inseparable part of the nation. President Erdoğan has called upon Kurdish "brothers and sisters" to oppose attempts to divide the nation through the PKK.
Also last week, Murat Karayılan, a senior leader of the terrorist group, announced that they had conditions to lay down arms, including “a bilateral cease-fire and end of confinement of Öcalan.” Ankara repeatedly said that counterterrorism operations would continue during the process. On Sunday, the Ministry of National Defense announced that 11 PKK terrorists were eliminated in northern Iraq. Seven terrorists were eliminated in Gara and four others in the Hakurk region of Iraq, a hotbed of PKK activity, the ministry said. The terrorists were eliminated in airstrikes carried out between Jan. 29 and Feb. 7, the ministry added, vowing that the Turkish army would continue to take preventive and destructive measures against the terrorist group. PKK terrorists frequently hide in northern Iraq to plan cross-border attacks against Türkiye. Another four terrorists of the YPG, the Syria wing of the PKK, were eliminated, the ministry said on Sunday. The terrorists had opened harassment fire in an area liberated from terrorism by Türkiye's cross-border operation Peace Spring in 2019.
The U.S.-backed YPG is another component of the initiative. Türkiye has separately called on them to lay down arms, expel non-Syrian members from its ranks or face a military operation. The YPG controls a self-styled autonomous region in northeastern Syria, while Ankara expects the new administration in Syria to resolve the matter of the YPG threat. Speaking on Wednesday, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said the stance of Syria's new interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa "on the fate of the PKK/YPG is perfectly clear," expressing confidence he would "address Türkiye's security needs." His remarks came a day after Sharaa's first official visit to Türkiye. Al-Sharaa has rejected any form of self-rule in his country and urged the YPG to hand over its weapons.
