Anti-terror commission prepares to deliver final report

ANKARA

A parliamentary commission overseeing the government’s “terror-free Türkiye” initiative will finalize its report at its next meeting and submit it to parliament leadership, officials said on Feb. 4.

“At the commission meeting planned for the coming days, the report will be finalized, voted on and submitted to the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye Presidency,” the office said in a written statement.

The announcement followed a meeting convened by Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş, which brought together representatives from political parties participating in the initiative for the fifth time.

Attendees included Abdulhamit Gül of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), Murat Emir of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), Cengiz Çiçek of the Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), Feti Yıldız of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and Bülent Kaya of the New Path bloc.

The commission has been working to combine submissions from political parties into a unified document, with issues identified in party reports continuing to be evaluated “in detail and meticulously,” according to the statement.

The peace bid gained momentum last year after jailed PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan issued a call that prompted the terror group to begin disarming. A first batch of members burned their weapons in July, and the organization later announced it was withdrawing from Turkish territory in late October.

Originally set to expire at the end of 2025, the commission’s mandate was extended by two months to allow members to complete their findings. The panel has met 20 times, hearing testimony from cabinet ministers, legal experts, civil society organizations and the families of fallen soldiers.

A cross-party delegation visited Öcalan on the İmralı prison island on Nov. 24, though representatives from the CHP and the New Path bloc did not join the AKP, MHP and DEM Party members for the visit.

The İYİ (Good) Party remains the only major political party to boycott the initiative, declining to send representatives to the commission.