A delegation from the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) met with Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli on July 16 as political parties continued discussions on legislation aimed at providing a legal framework for the government’s anti-terror initiative.
DEM Party lawmakers Pervin Buldan and Mithat Sancar held talks with Bahçeli a day after meeting ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) deputy chairman Efkan Ala. The two are also expected to meet Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş as consultations continue.
The meetings follow a symbolic weapons-burning ceremony carried out by PKK members, a move widely viewed as a key step in the terror group’s disarmament process.
According to reports, once a draft framework law is finalized and shared with political parties, the DEM Party delegation is expected to travel to the İmralı prison island to present the text to jailed PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan, who is serving a life sentence there.
Öcalan’s assessment of the draft would then be conveyed by the delegation to the government before being made public, the reports said.
Parliament is expected to take up the proposed framework law before lawmakers begin their summer recess.
Under one proposal under discussion, the National Intelligence Organization (MİT) and the Turkish Armed Forces would assess conditions on the ground before the National Security Council formally determines that PKK’s disarmament process has been completed, according to the reports.
