Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş continued his tour of political leaders following the delivery of a final report by a commission overseeing the government’s “terror-free Türkiye” initiative, meeting this time with officials from the Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party).
The half-hour meeting in parliament on Feb. 24 was attended by DEM Party co-chairs Tülay Hatimoğulları and Tuncer Bakırhan, as well as senior MPs Gülistan Kılıç Koçyiğit and Sezai Temelli.
Following the meeting, Kurtulmuş thanked the DEM Party for its contributions to the work of the National Solidarity, Brotherhood and Democracy Commission.
“A historic threshold has been opened for the resolution of the most serious issue in the history of our republic: The issue of weapons, violence and terror,” he said.
“Türkiye will now leave this issue behind and will never, ever turn back. Having come this far, and being so close to a solution, we will do our part as politicians.”
Bakırhan said they also exchanged views with Kurtulmuş regarding the steps to be taken in the coming period.
He said they shared with the public the points they disagreed with in the report, adding, “This doesn't mean the report is unimportant.”
“We have a common ground, and we value that. Now is not the time to discuss the disagreements in the report.”
He argued that steps such as the implementation of rulings by the European Court of Human Rights and ensuring the return of ousted mayors to their posts would further soften the political climate.
The commission finalized its work on Feb. 18, presenting a 60-page report outlining proposed democratization steps and legal reforms under the project. The report received 47 “yes” votes from the 50 commission members present, with two “no” votes and one abstention.
Kurtulmuş began his tour with Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli on Feb. 24. Later the same day, he met with main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Özgür Özel.
The speaker also visited the New Path bloc on Feb. 25, followed by a meeting with officials from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).
Momentum behind the initiative increased after jailed PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan issued a call that prompted the terror group to begin disarming. A first batch of members publicly destroyed weapons in July, and PKK later announced it would withdraw from Turkish territory in October.
The İYİ (Good) Party remains the only major political party boycotting the initiative and declined to send representatives to the commission.
