The terror-free Türkiye initiative moves forward with the first instance of disarmament by the terrorist group PKK, but there is still a lot to do for its main actors. As Parliament considers forming a committee to oversee the process, parties directly and indirectly involved in the initiative hope to garner public support for the initiative.
The ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) and its ally, the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), will hold public meetings throughout the rest of the summer to explain the initiative, particularly to their electorate. The MHP’s leader, Devlet Bahçeli, is the informal architect of the initiative that began with his call to the PKK’s jailed ringleader, Abdullah Öcalan, last year to urge his group to lay down arms. The Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), closely associated with the PKK, will hold similar meetings to inform the public.
The initiative surprised many at first as it was commenced by an unexpected name who is known for his staunch support for strict counterterrorism efforts to wipe out the PKK. Bahçeli has reasoned that the PKK’s dissolution is a must to reinforce unity in Türkiye at a time of Israeli expansionism that also threatens Türkiye. The PKK’s longtime goal has been carving out a so-called Kurdistan in the southeast and it exploited the Kurdish community of the country, who were deprived of some fundamental rights in the past. Bahçeli and AK Party Chair President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan repeatedly emphasized Turkish-Kurdish unity as key to the future of the country against any separatist agendas.
A recent survey conducted by polling company ASAL earlier this month shows that more than 61% support the initiative. The initiative is not without its opponents and skeptics. The main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) endorses the initiative but expresses reservations about its success. The far-right Good Party (IP) flatly opposed it and plans to hold nationwide “First Duty” rallies to voice its opposition. Inspired by the first sentence of a famous address to Turkish youth by the republic’s founder, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the rallies aim to sway public opinion against the initiative.
Elsewhere, Parliament is set to launch a committee to support the initiative with a legislative, legal framework later this week. The AK Party, MHP and DEM Party announced their contributions to the committee, while other parties are expected to unveil the names of lawmakers they would nominate for the committee by Thursday.
The DEM Party on Monday announced that its deputy parliamentary group chair Gülistan Kılıç Koçyiğit, lawmakers Meral Danış Beştaş, Saruhan Oluç and Cengiz Çiçek would join the committee, while the MHP said on Sunday that the party’s deputy chair Feti Yıldız and lawmakers Muhammet Levent Bülbül, Halil Öztürk and Yücel Bulut would represent the party at the committee.
Koçyiğit said at a news conference on Monday that they opposed the initiative to be called “terror-free Türkiye” and claimed that there was a “Kurdish question” in Türkiye. “If we are going to provide a democratic solution to the 'Kurdish question,' we should not frame this issue through security policies,” Koçyiğit said.
