Politics
Türkiye honors victims of Crimean Tatar, Circassian exodus
Türkiye on Monday marked the 82nd anniversary of the displacement of the Crimean Tatars and the 162nd anniversary of the Circassian Exile, describing both as profound humanitarian tragedies that continue to shape collective memory and regional politics.
In a written statement, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said hundreds of thousands of Crimean Tatars were forcibly deported from their homeland by Soviet authorities in 1944, with many dying in labor camps or from harsh living conditions during exile.
“The suffering of the Crimean Tatars, the indigenous people of Crimea, has become even heavier following the illegal annexation of the peninsula,” the ministry said, reaffirming Türkiye’s support for the preservation of the Crimean Tatars’ national identity, language and culture, as well as their security and welfare.
The ministry also marked the anniversary of the Circassian Exile of 1864, calling it “a major humanitarian tragedy” that forced the peoples of the Caucasus to leave their homeland under severe conditions and caused immense suffering and loss throughout the region.
“We share the pain of the Crimean Tatars and the brotherly peoples of the Caucasus and commemorate those who lost their lives with respect and mercy,” the statement added.
Separately, the Embassy of Ukraine in Türkiye hosted a memorial event in Ankara to mark the anniversary of the Crimean Tatar deportation.
The ceremony, hosted by the Ukrainian Ambassador to Türkiye Nariman Dzhelyal, was attended by foreign diplomats and guests.
Speaking at the event, Dzhelyal recalled how Soviet soldiers entered Crimean Tatar homes on May 18, 1944, and forcibly deported families over the course of several days. He said the majority of those exiled were women, children and the elderly.
“This was not relocation or evacuation. This was genocide,” Dzhelyal noted.
He stated that nearly half of the Crimean Tatar population died during the journey or within the first year of exile due to hunger, disease and inhumane living conditions.
Dzhelyal also accused Soviet authorities of systematically erasing Crimean Tatar identity by renaming villages, closing schools and confiscating property.
Following Ukraine’s independence, many Crimean Tatar families returned to Crimea, he said, but argued that Russia’s 2014 annexation of the peninsula brought back “the same logic of repression, fear and colonial violence.”
Dzhelyal said Crimea has since become an area marked by militarization, political repression and demographic engineering, claiming that between 500,000 and 800,000 Russian citizens have been resettled in the peninsula since 2014.
Reaffirming Kyiv’s position, Dzhelyal said: “Crimea is Ukraine. Crimean Tatars are the indigenous people of Crimea. Their rights to their land, identity, language, self-governance and future are not negotiable.”
Germany on Monday will host Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan. Fidan will join the third meeting of the Türkiye-Germany Strategic Dialogue Mechanism. The platform is meant to enhance bilateral relations as well as Türkiye’s ties with the European Union.
He will co-chair the meeting with his German counterpart, Johann Wadephul. The meeting will bring together working groups from Türkiye and Germany, which will present reports on the course of bilateral relations, Türkiye-EU relations, security and defense and regional issues.
Turkish diplomatic sources said Fidan would highlight Türkiye’s appreciation of the constructive atmosphere and strengthening dialogue between the two countries, thanks to increasing high-level contacts. He will also underline his conviction that the Strategic Dialogue Mechanism provided a beneficial ground to assess the strategic dimension of bilateral relations and for reinforcing cooperation and synchronization between foreign ministries and talks as part of the meeting would enhance bilateral ties and deepen existing fields of cooperation.
Turkish-German relations have a historic depth and are built upon a strong partnership between the two NATO allies. They also have a multi-layered structure on political, economic, social and security levels. High-level contacts in recent years have contributed to the ties. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan last visited Germany in November 2023, while German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier paid a visit to Türkiye in February 2025. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz was in Türkiye for a two-day visit in 2025, coinciding with Türkiye’s Republic Day. Fidan was in Germany for an official visit in November 2025, while Wadephul made two visits to Türkiye in October 2025 and this March.
Türkiye is the second biggest trade partner of Germany and eyes increasing current level from $52.2 billion (TL 2.38 trillion) to $60 billion. Between 2005 and 2025, German investments in Türkiye reached to $13.5 billion, while Türkiye’s direct investments in Germany exceeded $4.7 billion in the same period. The two countries are also scheduled to hold a new meeting of the Joint and Trade Commission (JETCO) and the 7th Energy Forum in June in Ankara. Türkiye is a major destination for German tourists. A total of 6.7 million tourists from Germany visited Türkiye last year.
The Strategic Dialogue Mechanism between the two countries was established in May 2013 with a joint declaration signed in Berlin, with the intent of bringing an institutional perspective and strategic dimension to the relations and supporting Türkiye’s EU membership bid. The mechanism had its first meeting in Berlin in May 2013 and the last one in 2014 in Istanbul. After the long hiatus, Erdoğan and Merz announced at their joint news conference in Ankara in October 2025 that they had decided to resume the Mechanism’s meetings.
Diplomatic sources said Fidan would also discuss the Turkish diaspora in Germany and underline that they were the main element empowering the social aspect of Turkish-German relations, and it was crucial to ensure their safety and prosperity. He will also stress the opportunities for advancing trade and economic partnership and mutual investments.
Separately, Fidan will highlight the will to advance existing cooperation in connectivity, high technology, digitalization and green energy and bring attention to the fact that the Energy Forum and JETCO meeting will carry cooperation to new horizons and contribute to developing economic ties with the goal of reaching $60 billion joint trade volume.
The top diplomat will also point out the significant potential of connectivity projects linking Europe to the Middle East, the South Caucasus and Central Asia via Türkiye for cooperation and exchange views with German officials for joint projects to build upon military relations and for cooperation in the defense industry.
On Türkiye-EU relations, Fidan will highlight the need to advance relations on a comprehensive, institutionalized and multilayered cooperation basis, according to the diplomatic sources. He will also underline the importance of the launch of negotiations for updating the customs union and the revival of the visa liberalization dialogue. He will bring attention to Germany’s support for the customs union as a critical element for unlocking the full potential of Turkish-German economic partnership and will stress that a European security strategy will be lacking if it ignores Türkiye’s strategic role, capabilities and geopolitical position. He will underline that Türkiye should be included in EU-led security and defense initiatives, as well as projects and strategies.
Developments in the Middle East and the Russia-Ukraine conflict will also be on the agenda during the visit. Fidan will tell German officials that multilateral efforts for ensuring maritime passage freedom through the Strait of Hormuz and regional stability were crucial and reiterate Türkiye’s support for efforts for a permanent end to the U.S.-Iran war. Fidan will highlight that a fair and lasting solution through direct talks between Russia and Ukraine is essential, and Türkiye will continue to act in synchronization to that extent with all relevant actors, to re-establish dialogue between Russia and Ukraine.
On Israel, Fidan will underline that Israel’s expansionist policies were the main factor for regional instability and insecurity and urge attention to escalating violations of the cease-fire in Gaza by the Netanyahu administration, as well as Israel’s policies aimed at undermining the two-state solution vision. He will call for more efficient action by the international community to ensure lasting regional peace and stability.
Turkish authorities detained 57 suspects in a corruption investigation looking into the procurement processes at an Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IBB) subsidiary, police said Monday.
The operation targeted Boğaziçi Facility Management Services (Boğaziçi Tesis Yönetim Hizmetleri A.Ş.), where investigators said several tenders were organized by suspects who manipulated the bidding process and made transactions that violate public procurement regulations.
The authorities said the activities amounted to bid rigging conducted within an organized network.
Officers from the Istanbul Police Department’s Financial Crimes Unit launched simultaneous raids across six provinces, including Istanbul, Adana, Bursa, Diyarbakir, Konya and Yalova. The suspects were detained during operations at multiple addresses, officials said.
The detainees were handed over to Istanbul police for questioning as the investigation continues.
Former mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem Imamoğlu, was arrested on March 19 last year on a string of corruption charges, including bribery, tender rigging and money laundering.
Held in pretrial detention ever since, prosecutors want him jailed for up to 2,430 years. The 107 defendants, including Imamoğlu, began testifying in custody on March 9.
Prosecutors accuse suspects of inflicting a “public expense loss” amounting to TL 161 billion ($3.8 billion) through bribes. A total of 402 suspects have been indicted in the case, including 105 who were remanded in custody. Imamoğlu is among them.
The Cabinet meeting set to be held in Ankara on Monday will be chaired by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, marking the first since he returned from Kazakhstan, where he attended high-level meetings and oversaw the signing of cooperation deals.
The terror-free Türkiye initiative and economy will be among the topics discussed by ministers, media outlets reported on Sunday.
On foreign policy, ministers will discuss possible negotiations between the U.S. and neighboring Iran on the fate of their lingering conflict and Türkiye’s efforts to ensure a lasting cease-fire. Ministers will also talk about the impact of the deadlock in the Strait of Hormuz on the Turkish economy. Another topic will be policies for the diversification of energy resources.
Ministers will also discuss the latest stage of the terror-free Türkiye initiative and legal steps to speed up the process, based on reports of security forces monitoring the disarmament of the terrorist group PKK. The initiative, which appears delayed, is expected to pick up pace again within weeks, media reports said on Sunday, referring to the completion of a report on the surveillance of the PKK’s disarmament. If the disarmament is confirmed, the Turkish Parliament will likely start working on legal amendments for the future of PKK members, including lenient sentences for surrendering members as well as early release for convicted members of the terrorist group under certain conditions. Terror-free Türkiye is the brainchild of Devlet Bahçeli, leader of government ally Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), who recently suggested that the PKK’s jailed ringleader, Abdullah Öcalan, should be given a new status to advance the process, and Türkiye should establish a “Peace Coordination” office for further legitimacy of the process.
President Erdoğan on Saturday said Türkiye desired to divest funds allocated for counterterrorism to “expenditures for education, science, employment, transportation and technology.” Addressing a youth event in northwestern Türkiye’s Kocaeli, Erdoğan said that the ultimate goal of terror-free Türkiye was ensuring peace and the safety of future generations.
The Cabinet meeting will also concentrate on the outcome of the informal summit of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS), which the president attended earlier this week in Kazakhstan with a delegation of ministers and top officials, as well as bilateral relations with Kazakhstan.
Speaking to reporters aboard his return flight from Kazakhstan on Friday, Erdoğan said that Türkiye and Kazakhstan elevated bilateral ties through a new Declaration on Eternal Friendship and Expanded Strategic Partnership signed during his visit to Astana and Turkistan. He said he held comprehensive talks with Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev on bilateral relations as well as regional and global developments during the sixth meeting of the High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council.
“We confirmed our satisfaction with the course of our relations and our determination to deepen cooperation in every field,” Erdoğan said, noting that 12 agreements were signed in various sectors alongside the joint declaration.
Highlighting growing economic ties, Erdoğan said nearly 5,500 Turkish companies have invested around $6 billion in Kazakhstan across sectors ranging from construction and finance to tourism and information technology, while Turkish contractors have undertaken projects worth nearly $30 billion.
He said the two countries aim to increase bilateral trade volume from $10 billion to $15 billion and stressed the importance of energy cooperation, including the transportation of Kazakh oil through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline.
On the OTS summit, where leaders signed the Turkistan Declaration, Erdoğan said the declaration “aims to make our existing cooperation more effective through digitalization and artificial intelligence opportunities.”
“Through the declaration, we also agreed on the need to strengthen institutional integration processes among Turkic states in line with the requirements of the digital age,” he added.
Another topic on the agenda of the Cabinet is the upcoming Eid al-Adha, or Qurban Bayram, a Muslim holiday which will be marked next week. The ministers will discuss measures for the occasion where hundreds of thousands of people travel between cities. Traffic accidents at the peak of Eid travel claim dozens of lives every year. The Eid is also an occasion where the faithful slaughter sacrificial animals and an occasion of mass movement of animals, especially cows and sheep, between the marketplaces of the cities.
Turkish authorities have issued detention warrants for 24 suspects as part of an investigation into the so-called “public sector confidential structure” of the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ), prosecutors said Monday.
According to a statement from the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, the investigation was carried out by the anti-terrorism bureau and focused on operational phone lines allegedly used by members of the group within state institutions.
The authorities said coordinated efforts by the National Intelligence Organization (MIT) and counterterrorism police identified suspects who allegedly used ByLock, an encrypted messaging application used by members of the terrorist group.
Investigators also cited sequential calls made through pay phones and prepaid lines, a communication method prosecutors say is linked to the group.
The prosecutor’s office said evidence of organizational activity was obtained against the suspects, seven of whom are still employed in various public institutions.
Police launched simultaneous operations across 11 provinces centered in Ankara to detain the suspects, officials announced.
Separately, authorities in Gaziantep announced the capture of a fugitive convict wanted on charges of FETÖ membership.
In a statement shared by the Gaziantep Provincial Police Department on X, counterterrorism teams said the suspect was detained during an operation conducted under the coordination of prosecutors.
The individual had been sentenced to six years and three months in prison on terrorism-related charges and transferred to prison, the statement said.
The terrorist group orchestrated the July 15, 2016, coup attempt, which killed 252 people and wounded 2,734 others. Ankara also accuses FETÖ of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police and judiciary.
Türkiye has targeted its active members and sleeper cells and its influence has been much reduced since 2016. However, the group maintains a vast network, including infiltrators suspected of still operating within Turkish institutions.
A government ally has fueled fresh debate in the “terror-free Türkiye” initiative by proposing what he called a “Peace Process and Politicization Coordination Presidency,” a mechanism that could potentially involve jailed PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan in a supervised disarmament and normalization process.
The initiative, launched with backing from the Turkish state and publicly championed by Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli, aims to end the PKK’s four-decade terror campaign that has killed tens of thousands and sown discord at home and across the border in Syria and Iraq.
Bahçeli’s proposal has reignited discussion over how Türkiye could legally structure a post-PKK transition if the group fully dissolves and lays down arms.
Bahçeli framed the issue not as a concession to the PKK, but as part of a state-led effort to permanently remove terrorism from Turkish politics.
“The essence of the matter is the complete liquidation of terrorism, the silencing of weapons, the removal of terrorism from our national agenda and the purification of politics from terror tutelage,” Bahçeli said.
Political momentum
The proposal followed the PKK’s declaration of its dissolution in March 2025 and a symbolic weapons-burning ceremony in northern Iraq later that year. Ankara significantly reduced military operations during the process, while a parliamentary commission with participation from nearly all political parties released a long-awaited report earlier in 2026 outlining possible legal and administrative steps related to disarmament, reintegration and political normalization.
The proposal also came amid increasing political coordination between the ruling alliance and the pro-PKK Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) around what is now increasingly described as a “peace process.”
What law allows, what it does not
Legally, however, such a mechanism would face major constraints under Turkish law.
Öcalan is serving an aggravated life sentence for crimes against the constitutional order and state unity. Under Law No. 5275 on the Execution of Sentences and Security Measures, prisoners convicted of certain terrorism-related offenses are excluded from ordinary conditional release mechanisms.
That means Öcalan cannot simply be released through standard parole provisions under current legislation.
Instead, legal experts say Ankara would likely need to pursue narrower institutional and execution-law reforms if it wanted to create any formalized role connected to the process.
One possible avenue would involve amendments to execution laws regulating aggravated life imprisonment. Such reforms could establish review procedures, expanded communication rights or alternative detention conditions without formally overturning the sentence itself.
Debates around the “right to hope,” a concept rooted in European Court of Human Rights jurisprudence arguing that life prisoners should retain some prospect of legal review, have periodically surfaced in Türkiye in recent years, particularly regarding Öcalan, after Bahçeli first floated the idea when he kicked off the terror-free initiative.
Another possible route would involve administrative adjustments rather than outright legislative change.
Turkish authorities already possess broad discretion over prison visitation, communication permissions and supervised meetings. During the 2013-2015 state-led process, delegations from pro-PKK political parties and intelligence officials were permitted to hold talks with Öcalan at Imralı prison under state authorization.
A similar framework could potentially be expanded under tighter institutional supervision.
Bahçeli’s remarks also raised the possibility of a parliamentary mechanism.
DEM Party officials have proposed establishing a “Peace Monitoring and Oversight Board” within Parliament to supervise disarmament verification and legal normalization steps. Such a structure could theoretically coordinate reintegration efforts, monitor reforms and oversee a transition from armed militancy toward legal political participation.
In that model, Öcalan would remain imprisoned while functioning as an indirect interlocutor within a broader state-controlled process.
Political balancing act
The National Intelligence Organization (MIT) is also expected to remain central.
Much of Türkiye’s previous engagement with the PKK occurred through intelligence channels rather than formal political negotiations. Under existing law, MIT already holds broad authority over counterterrorism coordination and national security operations, making it a likely institutional anchor for any future framework.
Still, major constitutional and political sensitivities remain.
The Turkish Constitution defines the republic as an indivisible state and prohibits activities threatening national unity. Any arrangement perceived as granting autonomous political legitimacy to a convicted PKK leader would face strong opposition across large parts of Turkish society.
Rather than emphasizing reconciliation alone, the proposal has been framed around public order, national unity, democratization and the removal of armed influence over politics. Officials close to the process increasingly portray the initiative as an effort to consolidate state authority by ending armed insurgency permanently.
The political balancing act may prove equally challenging.
While public polling suggests cautious support for ending terrorism, proposals involving any form of expanded role or status for Öcalan remain highly sensitive among nationalist and conservative voters. That leaves the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) in a pivotal position as both the governing force and the alliance partner expected to carry much of the political burden of persuasion.
For now, no formal legal draft has been introduced. But Bahçeli’s remarks indicate that discussions inside Ankara may be shifting from whether a post-PKK framework is possible to how such a framework could legally and institutionally function within the Turkish state system.
The main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) continues to lose popularity among mining businesses.
The sector, employing some 150,000 people, complains that the CHP seeks to undermine local production in mining, an essential element of every high-tech product, from cellphones, computers and defense to the aerospace industry. The Mining Platform, comprised of 18 nongovernmental organizations, and the Miners Association of Türkiye took offense at recent statements by Gökhan Günaydın, deputy parliamentary group chair of the CHP.
Günaydın has lashed out at the mining sector and the government in recent remarks in which he criticized mining royalties for the state, alleged gold smuggling and claimed widespread use of cyanide in mining, “whereas Europe abandoned cyanide use.”
Statements by the Platform and Association on Saturday said that the mining sector has been a primary sector taking critical responsibility to reduce Türkiye’s dependence on other countries.
“We are sending more than $60 billion in total resources abroad because we are not adequately utilizing the mines within our own territory. Supporting domestic production means keeping this enormous resource in our country and enabling our industrialists to access raw materials more easily,” the statement by the Platform said. Responding to claims that royalties paid to the state are low, the statement added: “A false perception is being created that mining enterprises pay very low shares to the state. Last year alone, our sector paid more than TL 32 billion ($700 million) to the public treasury under the heading of state royalties. In general terms, when calculated, approximately TL 30 out of every TL 100 earned by a mining enterprise goes directly to the state through various taxes and shares.”
The Turkish Miners Association also pointed out that the serious allegation that “smuggled gold is transported by helicopters,” which is not based on concrete data, is incompatible with current production and inspection processes. “Mining activities are carried out under the supervision of more than 30 public institutions. It is a legal requirement that every gram of gold produced is first refined to a purity of 99.5 out of 100 in accredited refineries in our country and then offered for sale on Borsa Istanbul. For gold bullion offered on Borsa Istanbul, the Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye has the right of first purchase in exchange for Turkish lira. In addition, the claim that European Union countries have abandoned the use of cyanide is also untrue. Eighty-five percent of the gold produced worldwide is produced using the cyanide method. Modern gold facilities operate in countries such as Finland, Sweden and Norway,” the statement said.
The statement also argued that: “Mr. Günaydın’s remarks clearly contradict even the vision of domestic production initiated under the instructions of Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of our republic, as well as the founding philosophy of the CHP (also founded by Atatürk). This approach, which targets mining, does not align with the republic’s vision of production and its goal of economic independence.”
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