The Parliament’s National Solidarity, Brotherhood and Democracy Committee is expected to conclude a key report soon on the terror-free Türkiye initiative. The committee was set up last August to move forward with the initiative that involves the disarmament of the PKK terrorist group.
Parliamentary Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş, who also chairs the committee, met representatives of parties contributing to the committee on Tuesday in a closed-to-press meeting. A second round of the meeting will be held next week as preparations for the joint report are accelerated. The report will serve as a guideline to Parliament when it introduces legislation on its own initiative.
The PKK has complied with a call by its jailed ringleader, Abdullah Öcalan, last February to dissolve itself. Öcalan’s landmark call was at the invitation of Devlet Bahçeli, leader of the government ally Nationalist Movement Party (MHP).
MHP co-Chair Feti Yıldız said lawmakers would convene next Tuesday or Wednesday again. “We agreed upon several items for the joint report. They may be removed or increased in the next round of talks. That might not necessarily be the last round, but it is safe to say that there is a great harmony (among parties),” Yıldız said.
The opposition largely supports the initiative, though not without reservations. Some smaller opposition parties adopted a more far-right tone, claiming the initiative was a “betrayal” of terror victims. Victims of PKK terrorism, however, including families of soldiers and civilians killed by terrorist attacks, largely endorse the efforts, according to statements of some nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) representing them.
Due to its sensitive nature, the initiative was met with skepticism, with some opposition figures claiming that Türkiye negotiated with terrorists. Authorities flatly rejected claims and said the disarmament was a unilateral process. Yet, laws and regulations will be required to add momentum to the initiative, including leniency in the sentencing of PKK members who were not involved in acts of terrorism.
The initiative is ultimately linked to what proponents name, “Turkish-Kurdish unity.” The PKK exploited disillusioned Kurdish youth for years, brainwashing them to join their cause for a so-called Kurdish state.
Türkiye tried to resolve the PKK issue more than a decade ago through the “reconciliation process” that aimed to improve the rights of the Kurdish community. But the PKK’s violation of a unilateral truce effectively ended the process.
The pro-PKK Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), which is part of the parliamentary committee, calls for more steps in the initiative, namely, ending the practice of appointment of trustees to municipalities. Most municipalities run by the DEM Party and its spiritual predecessor Peoples’ Democracy Party (HDP), were appointed trustees by the state, as their mayors were accused of aiding and abetting the PKK in the past. Yıldız says the practice may be modified.
“Trustees can be people who will be elected by the assembly of each municipality. We also support the reinstatement of Ahmet Türk and Ahmet Özer to their posts,” he said, referring to two mayors suspended from duty due to PKK links.
Another thorny issue is “right to hope” for PKK members, particularly its ringleader, Öcalan. Yıldız says they “have it” in their report, but they were not certain whether it would make it to the final joint report of the parliamentary committee. When the initiative was launched, the MHP had initially called on authorities to weigh the possibility of the right of hope for Öcalan if he called the group to dissolve. The right of hope, even implemented, does not grant immediate release. Öcalan, for his part, did not propose any conditions for his historic call. Nevertheless, conditions of his incarceration may be eased.
Tuesday’s meeting focused on the broad content of the report, which will be compartmentalized into several sections, including the functions of the committee, history of issues related to PKK terrorism, Turkish-Kurdish bonds, legal steps for disarmament of the terrorist group and “democratization.”
It will likely include recommendations on drafting a special law for the PKK’s disarmament and amendments to existing laws. It will not include any recommendations for the exact number of sentences for PKK members who surrendered.
The “Democratization” section of the report will likely include recommendations for new regulations on trustees, the European Court of Human Rights verdicts in PKK-related cases, amendments to election laws and laws for public assemblies.
