Politics
Terror-free Türkiye architect Bahçeli calls for clarification in plan
Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli hailed the latest stage in the terror-free Türkiye initiative that he helped conceive in 2024, but pointed out that more needs to be done.
The initiative, which aims to disarm the terrorist group PKK, has largely succeeded so far. It took a new turn last week when a parliamentary committee approved a final report on proposals for new laws and regulations to facilitate the process. The initiative has been unilateral, after the PKK announced it would dissolve itself following a February 2025 call by its jailed ringleader, Abdullah Öcalan. Lawmakers are now expected to discuss amendments to existing laws or implement new ones for the integration of PKK members not involved in acts of terrorism.
Critics of the initiative claim that the PKK would get away with the crimes it committed, and Bahçeli on Tuesday highlighted that authorities should be careful not to create such a perception. “It is precious to have a joint understanding (at the committee) on full dissolution of the PKK, its disarmament and the need for enactment of legal amendments to that extent. It is significant that the parliamentary report emphasized an independent and temporary legal amendment to manage the process, which involves disarmament and its aftermath, along with reinforcement of social integration. We have to have a legal framework that will not succumb to the perception of amnesty and impunity,” Bahçeli stressed.
“The dignity of Turks is the same as Kurds,” he said.
Bahçeli often highlights Turkish-Kurdish unity in the promotion of the terror-free Türkiye initiative. The PKK, for decades, has exploited disadvantaged members of the Kurdish community to recruit members to its cause of establishing a so-called “Kurdistan.”
Addressing the parliamentary group meeting of the MHP, Bahçeli said the terror-free Türkiye goal confirmed the might of the Turkish state and nation and charted the road for a new century of Türkiye with “unwavering unity.” He hailed the fact that Parliament took the highest level of initiative and all political parties except a few acted responsibly on the matter. He said that the committee’s report made up the most important leg of sincere efforts to achieve the goal of a terror-free Türkiye and slammed those criticizing the report.
“The National Solidarity, Brotherhood and Democracy Committee took up a historical role and was founded in a democratic, comprehensive way. It broke taboos,” Bahçeli said.
Türkiye tried its hand at resolving the PKK issue as early as the 1990s. Then-President Turgut Özal took the first concrete steps for a new way to resolve the problem and reached out to Iraqi Kurdish leaders viewed as close to the terrorist group. It was a time when the predecessor of the pro-PKK Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), a key actor in the terror-free Türkiye initiative, first won seats in the Turkish Parliament. Özal favored a “civilian” solution to the problem. He sought to address the problems the PKK exploited to advance its own agenda, such as more rights for Türkiye’s Kurdish community. Özal’s efforts partially paid off when the PKK briefly declared a “cease-fire.” However, several violent terrorist attacks in the same decade and Özal’s death in 1993 hindered this fledgling process that would also reportedly include a general pardon for convicted PKK members. Terrorist attacks continued until Öcalan’s capture in 1999. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the PKK reduced its terrorism campaign before another flare-up in violence.
Starting from 2012, the state launched a new process that was informally called the “reconciliation process.” The process cautiously proceeded, and the government offered expansion of rights for the Kurdish community, especially in education in their own language. The PKK scaled back its activities again, but this process ultimately collapsed too in 2015.
The PKK resumed its campaign and moved attacks from rural parts of the country to urban centers in the southeast, which hosts a predominantly Kurdish population. In response, Türkiye intensified counterterrorism operations and, in the past decade, stepped up aerial strikes and limited cross-border offensives to eradicate terrorists in Türkiye, Iraq and Syria.
The latest initiative, however, has been apparently most transparent in its approach to the issue. The parliamentary committee heard from people from all walks of life affected by terrorism, including families of terrorists themselves and representatives of pro-PKK circles. Bahçeli himself broke the MHP’s own taboos regarding the PKK, openly describing Abdullah Öcalan as “founding leader” of the terrorist group, unlike the harsh words he had for him in the past. Bahçeli, who once called for execution by hanging for Öcalan, was even gifted a rug by the PKK leader, who delivered it to the nationalist leader through a DEM Party delegation.
Bahçeli said on Tuesday that Parliament’s work should not be underestimated. “No one should dare to block our work to reinforce our unity and brotherhood with an environment of peace and calm,” he said.
“Democratization and preservation of rights and freedoms will raise the bar for economic prosperity. In Türkiye, free of terrorism, everyone will benefit. Beyond that, the step-by-step goal of establishing a terror-free zone will surround the country with a belt of peace and brotherhood. As soon as the dissolution of the terrorist group and the laying down of arms are monitored and verified by security and intelligence institutions, and once measurable criteria are clearly established, legal regulations can be implemented swiftly and transparently. Without undermining the sense of justice, tarnishing the memory of the fallen or diminishing the sacrifices of veterans, the reintegration into society of those entering a disarmed period will be carried out in phases,” he said.
Bahçeli also called on the relevant actors to carry out the full dissolution of any PKK-related entities. He said the KCK should also join it, referring to the so-called umbrella body of the PKK founded in 2005 as a self-styled umbrella organization of the PKK and its wings in Syria and Iran.
“The call (of Öcalan) is equally binding for the KCK. The immediate dissolution of the organization’s senior leadership structure must be ensured,” he said.
The MHP leader also urged defining the “status” of Öcalan.
“How will the status issue of the PKK’s founding leadership be addressed to ensure the planned steps and forthcoming regulations are realized? If such a problem exists, and in our view it does, how will it be resolved? How will the status of Imrali, which serves the goal of a terror-free Türkiye, be clarified? This debate should be conducted sincerely and resolved promptly in a manner consistent with reason and conscience,” he said. Imrali is the name of the island prison where Öcalan is incarcerated and used by Bahçeli and other politicians to avoid openly naming Öcalan.
He said that they also needed to rethink the issue of “trustee appointments.” In the past years, municipalities accused of funding the PKK and/or their mayors with links to the terrorist groups, had their assets seized, and mayors were replaced by trustees by courts.
Meeting with Kurtulmuş
Bahçeli on Tuesday also met Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş, who also serves as head of the National Solidarity, Brotherhood and Democracy Committee. Kurtulmuş was scheduled to visit leaders of other parties on Tuesday as part of his tour to hear their views on the terror-free initiative.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Kurtulmuş said he thanked Bahçeli for his leadership and support in the process.
“This was a historical threshold for Türkiye. It is not completed now, but Parliament undertook its responsibility. Unfortunately, the work to eradicate terrorism in the past was never introduced to Parliament for a variety of reasons. This is the first time that such a committee was founded,” he noted. Kurtulmuş stated that the public feedback on the report has so far been positive.
“(The report) does not represent the view of any single political party. Nor does it reflect the joint position of one or two parties. It was brought forward as the collective work of all parties represented on the commission, put to a vote, and, more importantly, adopted with the support of 47 of 50 lawmakers. The next phase of the process must also be followed with care. The exceptionally mature and democratic approach established under the roof of Parliament must continue so that Türkiye can consign this issue to the dustbin of history once and for all. We must proceed together with the same openness, sincerity and transparency. We expect Parliament to fulfill its responsibilities and to swiftly prepare and finalize the necessary legislation in the General Assembly,” Kurtulmuş said.
The Kremlin said Wednesday that work was underway on the possible transfer of Türkiye’s Russian-made S-400 air defense systems to a third country, a move that could help address a longstanding dispute between Ankara and Washington over Türkiye’s participation in the F-35 fighter jet program.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the issue was “on the agenda” and that discussions were taking place.
“Relevant work is being done, and appropriate contacts are taking place,” Peskov noted when asked about the possibility of transferring the systems.
His comments came after Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow could consider allowing the S-400 systems to be transferred to another country.
Lavrov said any recipient would need to act responsibly and maintain friendly relations with Russia, adding that Moscow would consider such a transfer if a request were made.
Türkiye agreed to purchase the S-400 air defense system from Russia in 2017 and acquired the system in 2019.
The acquisition drew criticism from the United States and other NATO allies, which argued that operating the Russian system posed risks to NATO defense systems and the F-35 program.
Washington subsequently removed Türkiye from the F-35 program and imposed sanctions under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA).
Ankara has long sought to resolve the dispute and return to the F-35 program. Yet, U.S. President Donald Trump said he was considering allowing Türkiye to rejoin the F-35 program at the NATO summit in Ankara in July.
Speaking alongside President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan at the Presidential Complex after arriving in Ankara for the summit, Trump said the time had come to remove sanctions that have strained relations between the two NATO allies.
“We’re going to lift the sanctions,” Trump said. “We don’t want to sanction our friends. I don’t want to choke my friend with sanctions.”
Calling Türkiye a militarily powerful country under Erdoğan’s leadership, Trump remarked that relations between Washington and Ankara were at their strongest point in years.
Yemen is seeking to expand cooperation with Türkiye to rebuild state institutions and improve essential public services as the war-torn country grapples with persistent security and humanitarian challenges, Foreign Minister Afrah al-Zouba said.
Al-Zouba made the remarks during a meeting with Türkiye’s Ambassador to Riyadh, Emrullah Işler, Yemen’s official SABA news agency reported.
The two officials discussed recent developments in Yemen and the wider region, as well as ways to strengthen bilateral relations and broaden cooperation.
Al-Zouba praised Türkiye’s support for Yemen and its internationally recognized government, including Ankara’s backing for the Presidential Leadership Council.
She stressed the importance of strengthening political and diplomatic coordination between Türkiye and Yemen amid regional and international developments, saying closer ties could support efforts to rebuild state institutions and bolster regional security and stability.
The Yemeni government is particularly interested in expanding cooperation with Türkiye in strengthening state institutions and improving basic services to help ease hardships facing the population, al-Zouba said.
The foreign minister also raised the impact of Houthi attacks on security in Yemen and the wider region, including threats to international trade and maritime traffic in the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
She warned that indiscriminate missile launches by the Houthis posed growing risks to civil aviation and international air travel, saying weapons that fail to distinguish between civilian and military targets endanger passenger aircraft and civilian lives.
Işler, for his part, reiterated Türkiye’s support for the Yemeni government and for Yemen’s security, unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity.
He also reaffirmed Ankara’s commitment to expanding bilateral cooperation and supporting the Yemeni government’s efforts to rebuild state institutions and restore security and stability.
Türkiye’s National Security Council (MGK) on Wednesday called for an end to the U.S.-Israel-Iran war and a return to negotiations, warning that continued fighting risks creating a cycle of conflict with increasingly serious global consequences.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan chaired the council to discuss Türkiye’s national security priorities and a series of regional and international conflicts, according to a statement released by the Communications Directorate after the meeting.
Officials briefed the council on ongoing operations at home and abroad against threats to Türkiye’s national unity and security, particularly the PKK/KCK-PYD/YPG, Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) and Daesh terrorist organizations, as well as recent international developments.
The MGK also reviewed progress under the Terror-Free Türkiye and Terror-Free Region initiatives, reaffirming Ankara’s determination to continue efforts aimed at strengthening the security of Türkiye and the wider region.
The council said Türkiye would continue pursuing policies aimed at contributing to the peace, security and prosperity of neighboring countries.
Syria featured prominently in the discussions, with the council reviewing what it described as positive developments in strengthening the country’s unity and territorial integrity, extending state authority nationwide and advancing the integration process.
Türkiye will continue supporting the Syrian people as they rebuild their country and strengthen relations with the international community, the statement said.
The council also underlined the importance of stability in Iraq, describing peace and security in the neighboring country as critical to the wider region.
It welcomed the Iraqi government’s efforts to strengthen state sovereignty throughout the country and reaffirmed Türkiye’s commitment to advancing strategic cooperation with Baghdad.
Turning to the conflict involving the United States, Israel and Iran, the MGK warned that continued hostilities were developing into a cycle of confrontation that was deepening existing regional vulnerabilities.
The council urged the parties to return to negotiations and end the conflict, warning that its global repercussions were becoming progressively more serious.
The MGK separately addressed developments in Gaza and Lebanon, saying Israel had continued its attacks without fulfilling its commitments and obligations toward establishing peace.
It called on the international community to take concrete action against Israeli policies that Türkiye says are obstructing regional stability, including violations of Syria’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.
The council also reviewed the latest developments in the Russia-Ukraine war, focusing particularly on attacks against civilian infrastructure and navigation routes and their regional and global repercussions.
Pointing to signs of uncontrolled escalation and the potential spread of the conflict, the MGK called on both sides to exercise restraint and pursue a cease-fire.
The meeting also addressed escalating tensions in Yemen, with the council warning that recent developments were increasing security risks across the region, particularly for neighboring countries.
It stressed that restoring calm in Yemen was also important for global stability and called for tensions to be brought under control without delay.
The MGK reiterated Türkiye’s determination to combat terrorism while pursuing regional diplomacy, stability and cooperation across neighboring countries and conflict zones.
New Welfare Party (YRP) Deputy Chair Doğan Bekin resigned from his post on Wednesday, at a news conference where he revealed a row with Suat Kılıç, another deputy chair of the opposition party.
Rumors were circulating about the possible resignation of Bekin and a switch to the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) for a while, but the politician revealed at the news conference in Ankara that he would remain in the party. Media outlets had earlier revealed that Bekin was not on good terms with Kılıç, a former minister who joined the YRP from the AK Party, for a while, and their differences of opinion further worsened in recent days. Bekin was quoted as saying that Kılıç opposed the terror-free Türkiye initiative and urged him to vote against a bill to facilitate the process involving the disarmament of the terrorist group PKK.
The YRP supported the AK Party in the 2023 presidential elections and is chaired by Fatih Erbakan, son of the late prime minister Necmettin Erbakan, political mentor of the AK Party Chair and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Bekin said Erbakan asked him to leave the post of deputy chair and member of the Central Executive Committee of the party. He said he spent his early years within the National View (the political movement led by Necmettin Erbakan) and had major disagreements with Suat Kılıç over the latter’s books where he does not have “good things to say about Necmettin Erbakan.” He said he asked Kılıç to apologize for what he wrote about Erbakan, but he refused.
When asked whether he would resign from the party, Bekin replied: “I will not act on my own regarding resignation. There are 117,500 voters who cast their ballots for me. There is a moral responsibility toward them. There are responsibilities placed on me by the local party organizations. We have colleagues, we have friends. I will under no circumstances take action without first consulting these brothers and sisters of ours who voted for us, worked for us, poured their hearts out day and night, and came to work in the campaign squares day and night doing local door-to-door outreach even while unable to take a bite of bread home. I will follow the process and act accordingly.”
Yakup Öner, an engineer who used to work at Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IBB), exposed, as part of the widespread corruption case, how the municipal officials rigged tenders involving Istanbul’s former mayor, Ekrem Imamoğlu, an opposition favorite.
Öner, who was released earlier after he agreed to collaborate with authorities, testified on Wednesday at the hearing on what prosecutors call the “Imamoğlu criminal organization” at a courthouse in Istanbul.
He told the court that during his tenure at the municipality, he found out that municipal officials were in talks with certain companies before tender processes and sought payment of “7% to 10% of the tender price” to award tenders.
“I found out that cash or similar payments had been requested from some companies doing business with the municipality during the election period,” he said. Some witnesses and defendants in the case have claimed that Imamoğlu and his associates collected cash through bribes to fund Imamoğlu’s Republican People’s Party (CHP) and his future campaign in presidential elections.
At the hearing, defendant Öner also described an annual salary of $100,000 (TL 4.9 million) that Ekrem Imamoğlu allegedly gave him unofficially in a bag, apparently as hush money.
The indictment stated that Öner had been part of the criminal organization led by Imamoğlu from its establishment. It alleged that Öner conveyed to Imamoğlu the details of his meetings with prominent businesspeople concerning structures located within the Bosporus scenic zone where new construction is either strictly regulated or prohibited based on zoning plans. The indictment also stated that, in line with Imamoğlu’s instructions, municipal officials requested “charitable donations, construction of nurseries, schools and libraries” as bribes in exchange for issuing otherwise unattainable permits.
Öner said Imamoğlu had requested the construction of a nursery worth $700,000 in exchange for a strengthening permit for a villa and had also asked a company to waive a TL 10 million receivable from the municipality in exchange for a strengthening permit.
Regarding the allegation that a $10 million bribe was demanded to refrain from taking action over zoning violations involving a building owned by a prominent company, Öner said, “The structure related to (the nightclub) Reina dates back to before 1950 and is therefore legally considered to have an occupancy permit. Accordingly, under the regulations, it is possible to issue a strengthening permit for structures with occupancy permits. The relevant company’s request was for this purpose. Ekrem Imamoğlu conveyed this matter to me. He told me about the company’s requests and said, ‘Let’s ask them to waive $10 million of the total amount they are owed by the rail systems,” he said,” referring to the municipality’s debt to the said company, which also undertook a rail project for the municipality.
In another instance, Öner said Imamoğlu told him to ask a construction company to build a dormitory and hand it to the municipality in exchange for a building permit.
Asked about the annual $100,000 salary that Imamoğlu allegedly gave him unofficially, Öner said: “I was an employee working outside the institution when I had my own company. Naturally, you establish a certain standard of living for yourself. When you are told to maintain that standard while working at the institution, you cannot change it. Therefore, I made such a request. He was kind enough not to turn me down, but this was an annual $100,000 regardless of the nature or quality of the work I was doing.”
When the prosecutor asked whether the money came from municipal funds or was paid by Imamoğlu himself, the defendant replied, “I received it from him.”
When asked whether the money was handed over in cash, the defendant said, “Yes, I received it in cash. I would receive it from him in the environment where he was.”
The prosecutor then asked, “Did Mr. Ekrem carry the money around by taking it out of his pocket?”
The defendant replied, “No, not in his pocket. I received it in a bag.”
“None of the businesspeople willingly or gladly accepted the high amounts of payments during any of the meetings. They somehow made it clear that they were not making the payments willingly. They felt that their future relationships and business dealings depended on these payments. Therefore, they felt they had to make them,” he said.
The number of mayors elected under the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) banner who have since joined Türkiye’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) has risen to 44.
The latest switches include the mayors of Çerkezköy, Çiğli, Elmalı, Şenkaya and Marmara, continuing a series of defections from the CHP since the 2024 local elections.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan presented party badges to the nine mayors during the party’s Expanded Provincial Chairs Meeting in Ankara on Tuesday and wished them success in their work.
The CHP won 420 municipalities across Türkiye in the 2024 elections. With 44 mayors having since resigned from the party and joined the AK Party, the figure represents roughly one in every 10 mayors elected on the CHP ticket, according to the figures.
The defections have fueled further debate within the opposition over the CHP’s candidate selection process and its handling of local administrations under Chair Özgür Özel.
CHP spokesperson Müslim Sarı criticized the party leadership over the latest developments, questioning how the mayors who later left the party had initially been selected as candidates.
“We asked the officials of the period before, and today we are asking again: Who nominated these people? Who recommended them? On the basis of what assessments did they become the CHP’s mayoral candidates? Aren’t you considering engaging in self-criticism?” Sarı said.
Several prominent municipal officials have been among those who switched to the AK Party over the past 2.5 years, including Aydın Metropolitan Mayor Özlem Çerçioğlu, Afyonkarahisar Mayor Burcu Köksal, Keçiören Mayor Mesut Özarslan, Beykoz Deputy Mayor Özlem Vural Gürzel and Tuzla Mayor Eren Ali Bingöl.
Çerçioğlu, mayor of Aydın province in western Türkiye, was the most high-profile name from the CHP to join the AK Party in recent years.
Çerçioğlu said she took the matter to CHP Chair Özgür Özel, and he listened to her concerns but did not respond. She claimed that she faced a barrage of insults on social media after speaking to Özel, and for months CHP headquarters did not respond to her.
She further said Özel himself openly defamed her, claiming she took bribes from a businessperson, noting that both the prosecutor’s office in Aydın and the Court of Accounts, which was inspecting municipalities, ruled for non-prosecution for her in that case.
The mayors who left the CHP cited a range of reasons for their decisions, including dissatisfaction with the party leadership, alleged pressure, a lack of attention to the demands of local administrations and concerns over the party’s institutional functioning.
Moreover, six municipal council members also from the CHP in Istanbul’s Ataşehir district joined the AK Party on Wednesday, a day after nine district mayors switched to the party.
Oğuz Sarul, Sinan Emrah Yıldırım, Fatih Evliyaoğlu, Abdullah Aslan, Cengiz Kayayurt and Mehmet Alver joined the AK Party during a local party meeting in Ataşehir, according to a statement from the AK Party’s Istanbul branch.
Sarul also serves as a member of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IBB) Council.
The switches changed the balance in the Ataşehir Municipal Council to 19 members for the CHP, 16 for the AK Party and two for the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP).
AK Party Istanbul Chair Abdullah Özdemir welcomed the six members, saying the party was open to people from different political backgrounds who wanted to contribute to local government.
Özdemir said the new members would contribute to a service-oriented period in local politics and that the party would continue working to address problems facing Istanbul residents.
Most recently, Ankara Mayor Mansur Yavaş resigned from the CHP in an announcement last week, saying, “I am resigning my membership in the Republican People’s Party and will continue my political path as an independent.”
In a statement on social media, Yavaş said his decision to leave the CHP was not made out of anger or resentment but after careful consideration.
He noted that political and legal disputes that began on March 19 and later included debate over the possible annulment of CHP party congresses had brought Turkish politics to a difficult point.
-
Sports2 days agoTürkiye slip to 31st in FIFA rankings after Nations League defeats
-
Economy3 days agoTrump Inc. faces congressional grilling if Democrats win midterms
-
Politics3 days agoTürkiye’s East Med leap leaves Tel Aviv cornered: Israeli media
-
Economy3 days agoTurkish Air Force gets new homegrown next-gen trainer aircraft
-
Economy3 days agoPotential Merz successor visits Türkiye with large business group
-
Politics3 days agoErdoğan, Subianto discuss expanding Türkiye-Indonesia cooperation
-
Economy3 days agoTrump unveils $15B Iowa steel project in pre-election push
-
Economy3 days agoErdoğan says Turkish capital market resilient, vows action in funds case