DEM Party urges peace commission before parliament recess

ANKARA

The Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) has called for the immediate establishment of a parliamentary commission to oversee a new peace initiative before the legislature enters its summer recess in July.

"Türkiye is going through a historic process. We are at a critical threshold in terms of resolving the Kurdish issue, which has been in conflict for over 40 years," DEM Party lawmaker Gülistan Kılıç Koçyiğit told reporters on June 12 in parliament.

The commission is part of the government’s "terror-free Türkiye" initiative and was first proposed by Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli. It has been endorsed by the DEM Party.

“This commission needs to be established immediately, as the first thing to do before parliament goes into recess,” Koçyiğit said. “This parliament has a historical responsibility in terms of overcoming this threshold, advancing, perpetuating and concluding social peace.”

Koçyiğit added that such a commission must serve as a platform that “represents the demands, pains and hopes of the people and reflects a strong social will.”

She also confirmed reports suggesting that jailed PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan desires to meet with figures from across the political spectrum at the İmralı prison island off Istanbul.

“Mr. Öcalan wants to meet with journalists, intellectuals, women and come together with different political parties,” Koçyiğit said. “We believe that this will make a great contribution to the ongoing process and will develop it even further.”

Her push follows PKK's move last month to disarm and disband itself as part of the peace initiative.