Parliamentary Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş called on political parties to accelerate efforts to complete the government’s anti-terrorism initiative, saying the process could continue even after the assembly enters its summer recess.
“I believe this process needs to be accelerated,” he said at a press conference in Ankara when asked whether parliament would begin formal work before the recess.
Kurtulmuş said the most important condition for the initiative what officials describe as the “terror-free Türkiye” process is obtaining verifiable and monitorable confirmation that PKK had fully dissolved.
“Given the positive momentum achieved, all parties need to continue their joint efforts to finalize this as soon as possible,” he said. “If necessary, work on this issue would continue [during the summer recess] and results will be achieved.”
His comments followed earlier remarks in which he suggested progress had slowed beyond what he said the intentions of jailed PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan were.
Speaking to reporters after returning from an overseas trip, Kurtulmuş said there had been “a serious delay outside the will of İmralı,” referring to the island prison where Öcalan is serving a life sentence.
“I hope this delay is lifted as soon as possible,” he said.
The verification that the terror group has fully disbanded, he said, would need to come from security institutions and could involve a mechanism reporting periodically to parliament.
Kurtulmuş pointed to a symbolic weapons-burning ceremony held in Iraq’s Sulaymaniyah as an important but incomplete step in the process, adding that momentum had slowed afterward.
“We must not leave any excuse open,” he said, adding that the parliament is prepared to act once security agencies confirm that conditions have been met.
The initiative gained pace after PKK announced in May that it had ended its armed activities and dissolved its organizational structure.
Parliament later established the National Solidarity, Brotherhood and Democracy Commission to oversee the process. The 51-member panel, chaired by Kurtulmuş, included representatives from all major parties except the İYİ (Good) Party.
