Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli has intensified pressure on the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to disband, following a wave of deadly clashes between the organization and Syrian government forces in Aleppo.
Speaking to MHP lawmakers during a weekly meeting in parliament on Jan. 13, Bahçeli criticized SDF for failing to align with a recent decision by PKK to lay down its arms. The friction comes amid a domestic "terror-free Türkiye" initiative launched in late 2024.
"The only valid thing for us is the call from İmralı... an invitation to peace and reconciliation, and it binds all structures of the separatist terrorist organization," Bahçeli said, referring to the island prison where PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan is held. "SDF and YPG are not, and cannot be, independent of this."
The MHP leader’s remarks follow intense fighting in the predominantly Kurdish neighborhoods of Ashrafieh and Sheikh Maqsoud in Aleppo.
"The organizational existence of PKK has been dissolved. The fate of the extension of this terrorist organization should be the same," Bahçeli said.
He also directed criticism toward the Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), accusing them of misrepresenting the violence in Syria.
"The blood of our Kurdish friends is our blood, their pain is our pain," Bahçeli said. "It is SDF and YPG that is using civilians as human shields in Aleppo, hiding behind innocents and leading them to their deaths."
The rhetorical clash follows a statement from DEM Party co-chairs Tülay Hatimoğulları and Tuncer Bakırhan, who compared the situation in Aleppo to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and urged Ankara to open dialogue with SDF leadership.
Bahçeli firmly rejected the DEM Party’s suggestion to invite SDF leaders to the Turkish capital Ankara for negotiations, describing such a proposal as a "lapse of judgment."
"How can there be negotiations with a terrorist organization under Israel’s control? How can the Turkish republic approve such humiliation?" Bahçeli asked, further labeling SDF leader Mazlum Abdi a "puppet."
"The interlocutor is clear; it is none other than the founding leader of PKK."
The domestic anti-terrorism initiative in Türkiye became possible after Bahçeli made a landmark call for Öcalan to address parliament.
