Kurtulmuş sets out parliament’s role in PKK disarmament process

ANKARA

Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş said lawmakers would oversee implementation of Türkiye’s disarmament law, monitor official findings on the terror group PKK’s dissolution and seek consensus on any further legislation needed.

In an interview with Ortadoğu Analiz, the journal published by the ORSAM think tank, Kurtulmuş outlined parliament’s three responsibilities in the next phase of the “terror-free Türkiye” initiative.

A planned monitoring commission would follow the law’s implementation, he said.

Parliament would also review security agencies’ assessments of the PKK’s dissolution and disarmament, along with the government’s decisions on individual cases.

Kurtulmuş said authorized security agencies must establish beyond doubt that the organization had dissolved in full and that its weapons had been put out of use.

“The legal process will not proceed until this determination is made,” he said in remarks released by parliament on Sept. 24.

Parliament approved the framework law on Aug. 10.

Kurtulmuş said its implementation would require transparency, equal treatment and effective oversight.

He also called for an end to discriminatory and divisive political language, saying disarmament alone was not the final goal.

The process should strengthen democratic participation and citizenship while preserving Türkiye’s unitary structure and official language, he said.

Turning to the region, Kurtulmuş said non-state armed groups should no longer be treated as legitimate political actors.

Respect for the sovereignty, territorial integrity and equal citizenship of Iraq, Iran, Syria and Lebanon should be shared principles, he added.

Türkiye’s approach could not simply be copied in Iraq and Syria, he said.

“The two countries’ historical and social conditions are different. What can be transferred is the method.”

Türkiye and Iraq agreed on Sept. 23 to restore full state authority in Sinjar and end the presence of banned foreign armed groups, according to a joint statement issued after President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan met Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi in New York.

Under the agreement, Turkish forces would gradually hand over the Bashiqa-Zilkan compound to Iraq’s federal government, in line with progress on Baghdad’s security measures and an agreed mechanism and timetable.

The two countries also agreed to expand trade and investment and accelerate joint projects, including the Development Road.