Nedim Şener – ANKARA
Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli has said jailed PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan should remind the terror group’s affiliates in Syria and Europe that the decision to disband applies to them as well.
“From that day [of the weapons burning ceremony] until today, the haste and cunning of stagnation, foot-dragging and killing the clock have not gone unnoticed,” Bahçeli told daily Hürriyet in an interview published Sept. 8.
Under the government’s ongoing “terror-free Türkiye” initiative, PKK first declared a ceasefire in line with Öcalan’s call, then announced its decision to disband and disarm. A group of members burned their weapons during a symbolic ceremony in northern Iraq in July.
PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the United States and the European Union. Ankara says the disarmament decision also applies to YPG, which it regards as PKK’s Syrian offshoot.
“Öcalan’s reminder in a new statement that his Feb. 27 call also covers the organization’s branch in Syria and its structure in Europe… will end the debate on this issue,” said Bahçeli, a key ally of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
“While PKK convened its congress and decided to dissolve itself in response to Öcalan’s call… we cannot allow its Syrian branch, backed by Israel and the U.S., to remain a security threat to Türkiye.”
Bahçeli said he believed Öcalan was “sincere” in his views, including his call for PKK to disband and disarm.
Government officials have repeatedly called on the YPG-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to comply with an agreement to integrate into Syria’s new army.
When asked whether Türkiye would consider a military operation in Syria if the deal is not met, Bahçeli said “the final decision on this matter rests with our president, Mr. Erdoğan.”
He also pointed to the work of a parliamentary commission established to oversee the process, adding there would be no negotiations with the terror group.