Ahead of its formal inauguration, a parliamentary committee on the terror-free Türkiye initiative is taking shape.
The Republican People’s Party (CHP) and the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) on Thursday announced the names of their parliamentarians who will join the committee.
The committee is expected to begin work next week and will address the multiple aspects of the initiative that have been discussed so far through statements from politicians. The first concrete step in the initiative, which involves disarmament of the PKK terrorist group, came earlier this month when a group of terrorists burned their weapons in a symbolic ceremony. Although a symbolic gesture, it is expected to gain momentum in the coming months and end decades of violence that claimed tens of thousands of lives.
Media outlets reported that the CHP’s committee members will include Deputy Parliamentary Group Chair Murat Emir, Deputy Chairs Gökçe Gökçen and Murat Bakan and lawmakers from Istanbul, Diyarbakır, Ankara and Muğla. Among them are Türkan Elçi, the widow of Diyarbakır Bar Association’s former Chair Tahir Elçi, who died in 2015 in crossfire during a shootout between police officers and PKK members and Sezgin Tanrıkulu, a prominent parliamentarian who has often made headlines for his heavy criticism of counterterrorism efforts.
The CHP supports the terror-free Türkiye initiative, though it criticizes many aspects of the process. Party Chair Özgür Özel said earlier that they would join the committee if it applies “qualified majority” rule and their condition appears to be accommodated. Other parties that have confirmed their intention to join the committee are the Labour Party (TIP) and the Democratic Left Party (DSP). The Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) had already announced its lawmakers for the committee, around the same time that the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) unveiled its list of lawmakers. The MHP launched the terror-free Türkiye initiative last year when its leader Devlet Bahçeli called on PKK’s jailed ringleader Abdullah Öcalan to urge his group to lay down arms. Öcalan agreed and the PKK declared its dissolution last May before it started abandoning arms earlier this month. The DEM Party, known for its intricate links with the PKK, played a key role in the initiative, serving as messenger between Öcalan and political parties during visits to the PKK leader, party leaders and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
The AK Party’s parliamentary group chair, Abdullah Güler, announced the names of their 21 committee members as they presented the list to the office of the Parliament speaker on Thursday. Among AK Party lawmakers who will serve on the committee are former Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gül, Mustafa Şen, Kürşat Zorlu, Hüseyin Yayman, Cüneyt Yüksel, Sunay Karamık, Selami Altınok, Kemal Çelik, Mehmet Sait Yaz, Mahmut Atilla Kaya, Şengül Karslı, Mehmet Şahin, Ayşe Böhürler, Radiye Sezer Katırcıoğlu, Tahir Akyürek, Ali Kıratlı, Cevahir Asuman Yazmacı, Gökhan Diktaş, Burhan Kayatürk, Abdurrahman Babacan and Ersan Aksu. Yüksel is a prominent academic who taught law before joining Parliament and already heads a parliamentary delegation representing Türkiye in international courts in the country’s efforts to hold Israel accountable for its war crimes in Gaza. The AK Party’s list is diverse in terms of constituency, containing lawmakers from all regions of Türkiye, including southeastern Türkiye, which has heavily suffered from PKK attacks for decades.
The Free Cause Party (HÜDA-PAR), which endorsed President Erdoğan in the 2023 presidential elections, announced that its chair, Zekeriya Yapıcıoğlu, will serve as a committee member, while the New Path (YY), an alliance of three smaller political parties that pursue right-wing policies, presented the list of three lawmakers to represent them at the committee on Thursday.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş, who will chair the committee, said it would begin work in the first week of August and would operate in a manner that ensures all parties have a say in the process. Kurtulmuş confirmed the qualified majority rule for the decisions of the committee. He noted that the initiative had now passed to Parliament as disarmament began.
“Now we have to move forward very sensitively,” he said.
He said the committee would draft several legal regulations based on the needs of the initiative. “One of the most important issues here is maintaining transparency in the committee’s work, heeding public concerns. The golden ratio for us, the balance of this work is prioritizing the dignity of Turks and the pride of Turks,” he said.
Proponents of the initiative often stress Turkish-Kurdish unity to counter the terrorism threat, as the PKK long exploited Kurds to draw support for its so-called cause to carve out an autonomous region for the community in the southeast. Kurtulmuş stated that the committee would hear “many people.”
“We will hear from nongovernmental organizations, jurists and everyone who studied this and has a stake in this. It will not be a political entity. This is an initiative involving the entire nation and efforts to eradicate the most important problem in the history of the republic,” he said.
He also stated that the committee would draft bills and present them to Parliament’s general assembly, which will then decide on whether to pass them.
