The PKK terrorist group is expected to start the process of laying down arms in the coming days, while the architect of the terror-free Türkiye process urged acceleration of the initiative in a speech on Tuesday.
Some media outlets reported that members of the terrorist group would start disarmament in Iraq’s Sulaymaniyah this week, and a small group would be the first to symbolically abandon weapons. Senior members of the group told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that some “fighters” would destroy their weapons as a “goodwill gesture.”
Representatives of political parties in Iraq, local observers and the media will attend the ceremony, according to the media reports. PKK jailed leader Abdullah Öcalan would also issue a new message regarding disarmament, while a delegation from the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) will meet President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan next week before a visit to Öcalan.
Devlet Bahçeli, the leader of government ally Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) who initiated terror-free Türkiye with his call to authorities to allow Öcalan to urge the PKK to lay down arms, said in a parliamentary group meeting of his party that Türkiye should be cautious against “incitement and provocation” aiming to undermine the initiative.
Bahçeli said Türkiye has entered a new era and that achieving a terror-free Türkiye was a national, moral duty.
“Just like how grass sprouts under the ice after a long winter, everything will blossom again. The storm will subside, the clouds will disperse, the skies will clear, and the sun will rise to herald the 'Century of Türkiye,'” Bahçeli said.
He warned that history is filled with tragedies caused by those who took the right step at the wrong time and the wrong step at the right time. “What matters is to take the right step at the right time,” he said.
“‘A terror-free Türkiye’ is that step, a manifestation of the national conscience and the yearning for lasting peace and prosperity.”
Bahçeli firmly stated that in the new century, Türkiye will not tolerate terrorism. “We will not relive the suffering, the pain and the tragedies we’ve endured until now,” he said.
“This bloody era must end entirely. A dark chapter must close forever. There is no going back. Otherwise, the consequences would be catastrophic beyond imagination,” Bahçeli warned.
“Our surroundings are engulfed in fire. Temporary cease-fires, hollow declarations of victory and staged confrontations unfold before our eyes every day,” he said.
“The claims about the potential use of nuclear weapons point to catastrophic threats. There is an organized rivalry as if someone is intentionally lighting the fuse of a new world war.”
Bahçeli condemned the destruction in Gaza and the suffering of civilians, saying, “Drones, missiles, fighter jets darkening the skies, intelligence wars, dead civilians, lost values, and ruined civilizations ... The world watches as Gaza is erased from the map, babies feed on blood instead of milk, and children are buried in shrouds.”
“In the face of this grim reality, a terror-free Türkiye is the indestructible fortress of our national existence and internal peace,” he said. “The goal of the Zionist-imperialist barbarity is clear: to weaken and neutralize Türkiye,” he said.
Ömer Çelik, spokesperson for the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party), told reporters on Tuesday that the terror-free Türkiye initiative had its “own pace” and they were now in a stage in which new developments may occur within days. Çelik noted that Erdoğan would likely speak about the initiative after his scheduled talks with the DEM Party.
“We believe it will be inspiring for a terror-free Türkiye,” he said. Çelik noted that the process that began with calls by the People’s Alliance evolved into state policy.
Tuncer Bakırhan, co-chair of the DEM Party, told the parliamentary group meeting of his party that they expected their talks with Erdoğan would lead to an inclusive road map.
“After talks, we believe Türkiye will enter a new era where it can take a deep breath of relief,” he said.
After decades of military operations to eradicate the group, Türkiye initiated a "reconciliation process" in 2013 in a bid to prevent the PKK from justifying its actions. The process saw the reinstatement of the rights of the Kurdish community, but it ultimately collapsed when the PKK resumed its terror attacks after a brief lull.
President Erdoğan highlighted Türkiye's commitment to protect and preserve efforts to eliminate terrorism within the country and that Ankara will not allow those efforts to be undermined, reversed or sabotaged, to ensure that the progress in counterterrorism is not lost.
Speaking at a news conference on Monday after a Cabinet meeting in the capital, Ankara, Erdoğan said some actors have been trying to sabotage the initiative.
"It appears that certain elements both within the country and within the PKK terrorist group are pursuing sabotage efforts aimed at derailing the terror-free Türkiye process, but our state will not fall into these traps," he told reporters.
