Erdoğan says anti-terror project will ‘open door to new era’

BİTLİS

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Aug. 25 said his government’s anti-terror initiative will usher the country into a “new era,” as he attended commemorations marking the anniversary of the Battle of Manzikert in eastern Türkiye.

“We will all witness... the rise of a great and strong Türkiye on the horizon. We will carry Türkiye toward much stronger tomorrows. Our path and horizon are open,” Erdoğan said during a ceremony.

Later in the day, Erdoğan chaired a cabinet meeting in Ahlat, near the historic battlefield where Seljuk forces defeated the Byzantine army on Aug. 26, 1071.

“Along with our brotherhood, our economy will also grow stronger. The resilience of our internal front will increase. When our terror-free Türkiye process reaches its goal, God willing, the doors to a new era will open before our nation,” he said.

“Blood merchants will lose; opportunists profiting from terrorism will lose. Those seeking to drown our geography in instability will lose. The winning side will be the humanity front, brotherhood, peace, and stability. The winner will be the Turkish nation with its 86 million citizens.”

Erdoğan and his close ally, Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli, attended the commemorations. The president has participated in the annual Ahlat celebrations in each of the past two years, accompanied by several ministers.

A speech Erdoğan delivered in Ahlat two years ago was seen as signaling the start of the latest campaign aimed at ending the decades-long conflict with the PKK.

Parliament overwhelmingly approved Aug. 10, a law establishing the legal framework for what the government calls the “terror-free Türkiye” initiative, with 467 lawmakers voting in favor.

The process began in late 2024 after Bahçeli called for a new initiative to resolve the PKK issue. It reached a major turning point in February 2025, when jailed PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan called on the terror group to end its armed campaign and dissolve itself.

PKK subsequently announced in June 2025 that it would disarm and disband. A month later, members of the group held a symbolic weapon-burning ceremony in northern Iraq.

Türkiye regards the PKK as a terrorist organization, as do the United States and the European Union.

The Manzikert commemoration comes during “Victory Week,” when Türkiye also marks the start of the 1922 Great Offensive against occupying forces and celebrates Victory Day on Aug. 30.