İYİ Party leader sets Ankara rally in ‘national unity’ show

ANKARA

İYİ (Good) Party leader Müsavat Dervişoğlu on June 10 called for a large gathering in Ankara later this month, framing it as a show of political unity and a response to rival demonstrations planned in other cities.

He positioned the event as a counter-mobilization to planned demonstrations in several cities on June 27 and 28, organized around calls for the release of PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan.

“Those who care about Türkiye, who are concerned about the future of the Turkish republic, are invited to Tandoğan square... on June 27,” Dervişoğlu told İYİ Party MPs during a weekly meeting in parliament. He said the gathering would demonstrate that “Türkiye is not unclaimed” and emphasized national unity and public visibility.

Dervişoğlu also criticized what he described as attempts to distract public attention from Türkiye’s core problems, including economic hardship and governance issues, accusing political actors of shifting focus through divisive debates.

The İYİ Party has been the only major party in parliament that has not backed a peace initiative what government calls the “terror-free Türkiye” process and chose not to participate in a special parliamentary commission set up to advance it.

As part of the initiative, PKK first declared a ceasefire and later announced its decision to dissolve itself and lay down arms.