Politics
Bahçeli, DEM Party members meet for terror-free Türkiye
As Türkiye still waits for the next stage of the terror-free Türkiye initiative for the disarmament of the PKK terrorist group, two key actors of the process met on Thursday.
Government ally Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli, who informally launched the initiative two years ago, met a delegation from the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), which has intricate links to the terrorist group.
DEM Party lawmakers Pervin Buldan and Mithat Sancar and lawyer Faik Özgür Erol visited Bahçeli at his office in the Turkish Parliament. The trio is also part of a delegation that regularly visits the PKK’s jailed ringleader, Abdullah Öcalan, on the island prison near Istanbul where he is incarcerated. The initiative moved forward with the DEM Party relaying Öcalan’s message to the PKK in which he called for the dissolution of the terrorist group.
Neither Bahçeli nor the DEM Party delegation, who met before as part of the initiative, commented on their meeting, which lasted for about 40 minutes. The delegation has held talks with ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) officials on Wednesday.
Media outlets reported that the talks focused on a “framework law,” which is expected to follow the confirmation of the PKK’s full disarmament. The law will cover a reduction in prison terms for a limited group of PKK members and regulations to facilitate the process. Öcalan and other PKK figures already sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment will be exempt from any leniency, according to the media reports.
Family and Social Services Minister Mahinur Özdemir Göktaş stressed that a new draft bill on juvenile crime primarily aims to prevent children from being dragged into a life of crime.
Göktaş was speaking to broadcaster NTV on Thursday on the bill announced earlier this week by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party).
The bill is one of the most comprehensive ones on children involved in crime, but its highlight has been the introduction of life sentences for convicts at the age of 15, though it would be at the discretion of the court.
Göktaş underlined that the proposed bill would strengthen the mechanism to protect children and prevent crime.
“Our goal is to identify, minimize and eliminate the risks children face before they are drawn into crime. For children who do enter the judicial process, we aim to establish an effective coordination mechanism from the very beginning, working in close cooperation with the judiciary and all relevant institutions,” she said.
She stated that all protective measures for children will be consolidated under a single framework. She explained that once a child becomes involved in the judicial process, the relevant institutions will be notified simultaneously so that protective measures can be implemented without delay. She added that, under the ministry’s coordination, all relevant institutions will be integrated into the process. At the local level, commissions established within provincial governorates will monitor child protection measures on a case-by-case basis.
Turkish authorities detained six suspects Thursday in a second wave of an investigation into alleged bribery and extortion at Istanbul’s Beykoz Municipality, prosecutors said.
The Beykoz Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office issued detention warrants for eight suspects as part of an ongoing investigation into allegations of bribery and extortion linked to the tenure of former Beykoz Mayor Alaattin Köseler, who was previously suspended from office.
According to prosecutors, the latest operation was launched based on evidence collected during the investigation, statements from complainants and testimony provided by suspects under Türkiye’s effective remorse provisions.
The suspects include businesspeople, a Beykoz municipal council member and former municipal employees who are alleged to have participated in the offenses under investigation.
Six suspects were detained during coordinated police raids, while efforts to locate and apprehend the remaining two suspects are ongoing.
The investigation remains underway.
Earlier this month, former Beykoz Mayor Köseler was arrested as part of the investigation into alleged bribery, extortion and zoning-related corruption. Prosecutors said the case was supported by witness testimony and statements given under Türkiye’s effective remorse provisions.
Dozens of mayors and municipal bureaucrats from Türkiye’s main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) were detained or arrested in the past two years in investigations focusing on corruption. The majority of allegations involve bribery in return for construction permits, which are otherwise subject to strict regulations, and rigging the lucrative tenders of municipalities.
While the CHP is facing internal chaos and a leadership crisis between the former head, Özgür Özel, and CHP Chair Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) has seen a stream of new transfers in the past two years.
Since the 2024 elections, 15 mayors have left their parties and joined the AK Party. Most of them were formerly members of the CHP.
Türkiye’s military has strengthened its institutional structure, rebuilt its education system and restored critical personnel capacity in the decade since the failed July 15, 2016 coup attempt, Defense Minister Yaşar Güler and the head of the National Defense University said.
Speaking to Sabah newspaper, Güler said that the fight against the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) was continuing without interruption and with the same determination shown in its immediate aftermath.
He said 24,008 personnel had been dismissed from the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) while the ranks of 2,198 retired personnel had been revoked as part of investigations into alleged links to the group.
“The most important issue for the Turkish Armed Forces is not the figures, but the uncompromising continuation of the struggle against this treacherous structure that attempted to infiltrate the state,” Güler noted.
He said new information and documents were being evaluated in coordination with relevant institutions and that judicial procedures were being carried out with what he described as great sensitivity.
“Our struggle against those who betrayed our state and nation will continue with the same determination until not a single affiliated member remains,” he stressed.
The minister described July 15 as one of the darkest nights in the country’s history, but also as one of its most significant democratic resistance movements.
He said the attempt was defeated through the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, public resistance and the efforts of members of the security forces and military who remained loyal to the constitutional order.
“The nation showed the entire world that it would never surrender to any center of tutelage or act of betrayal.”
Underlining that the central lesson of the failed coup was the need to preserve national unity and solidarity, Güler added that the military introduced extensive reforms over the past decade in recruitment, professional military education, career planning and internal oversight.
He said a personnel system built around merit, discipline, transparency and the rule of law had helped the armed forces become more effective, respected and capable of deterrence.
FETÖ had sought to weaken the military’s institutional structure, undermine unity of command and damage public confidence in the armed forces, but had failed to achieve those aims, according to him.
He recalled that the military was currently conducting some of the most extensive operations in its history, including border security missions, counterterrorism operations, maritime deployments and international assignments.
Citing domestically produced defense technology, improved training standards and qualified personnel as factors that had increased the military’s operational capacity, Güler said planned recruitment and training programs had largely resolved the shortage and that the air force was now capable of conducting its missions inside Türkiye and across its borders.
Furthermore, National Defense University (MSÜ) Rector Erhan Afyoncu said the military education system had to be effectively rebuilt from the ground up, describing the coup attempt as more than a conventional military takeover, calling it an attempt by an espionage network to occupy Türkiye and provoke civil war.
He noted the group had gradually placed members in military high schools and academies beginning in the 1970s, intensifying those efforts after 1980.
According to Afyoncu, the network recruited children, prepared them for military careers and helped them rise through the ranks, while allegedly forcing out students who were not affiliated with the group.
He said unusually high numbers of dismissals from military schools before 2016 should have raised concerns among senior commanders.
Afyoncu said about 16,000 students were removed from military schools following the coup attempt, leaving the system without a functioning structure.
The National Defense University was established later that month, bringing army, navy and air force education institutions under a single civilian-supervised organization.
Afyoncu said the new structure introduced joint civilian-military administration, revised curricula and courses on democracy, civil society, military history and what he called Turkish war philosophy.
He said the university’s curricula were also aligned with the standards of Türkiye’s Council of Higher Education and pointed out that public interest in military education remained high despite fears that families would be reluctant to send their children to military schools following the coup attempt.
“When we began accepting students only a few months after the coup, people came in large numbers,” he said. “The Turkish nation protected its own military education system.”
The university has since graduated nearly 67,000 officers and noncommissioned officers, he remarked, helping fill much of the personnel gap created by the dismissals.
Afyoncu said the graduates had enabled the military to maintain operations in multiple regions and continue naval and overseas deployments.
“Without those 67,000 graduates, these military operations could not have been carried out,” he said.
Afyoncu also added that Türkiye had expanded military education cooperation with partner countries. Foreign enrollment at the university had risen from students representing 16 countries at the time of its establishment to students from around 50 countries.
Similar military universities had also been established or were being developed in Azerbaijan, Syria and Uzbekistan, he noted.
Both Güler and Afyoncu said reforms were intended to prevent similar networks from infiltrating the military in the future.
Güler said the armed forces would continue to serve under the Constitution and laws, under civilian authority and in the service of the nation.
“We will continue working with the same determination and sacrifice for the security, independence and survival of our country,” he emphasized.
The ousted chair of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) reaffirmed that he is planning to found a new party next month.
Özgür Özel sought to end speculations about his political future in an interview with pro-CHP Sözcü TV on Wednesday, two days after he told journalists that he decided on the name of the new party before adding “just kidding!”
He appeared serious this time, telling the broadcaster that preparations were underway for the new political party. He said any formal step would wait until after ongoing legal proceedings. In May, Özel was ousted from office when a court annulled CHP’s 2023 congress that elected Özel as chairperson, citing allegations of fraud in favor of Özel in that vote. The court verdict also reinstated Özel’s predecessor, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu. He was quick to proceed with his plans to restore the party’s image stained with allegations of corruption engulfing CHP mayors and Özel himself.
Özel’s supporters branded Kılıçdaroğlu as a “traitor” who sought to hinder CHP’s ambitions to win the next presidential race under Özel. Meanwhile, he repeatedly called on the Kılıçdaroğlu administration to hold another party congress, believing that he would win the intraparty election again. Currently, the party is practically divided into two, one camp supporting Kılıçdaroğlu and another one supporting Özel, who now holds the title of CHP’s parliamentary group chair.
Kılıçdaroğlu said in a recent interview that he opposed the split within the party. The Özel camp says that the former leader has a better chance in the next presidential election scheduled for 2028, based on opinion polls, while Kılıçdaroğlu, almost every week, removes the party’s top figures pledging loyalty to Özel through disciplinary action. The expulsions, at times, led to violent confrontations between supporters of Özel and Kılıçdaroğlu. In some provinces, provincial chairs of the party removed from their post by the Kılıçdaroğlu administration for their loyalty to Özel, refused to leave the office.
Özel said the legal proceedings on an appeal to the ruling that ousted his leadership and a request to hold an extraordinary party congress could be completed within a couple of weeks, and if they are blocked, a new party could then be set up.
“A formal step could be taken toward the end of July or the beginning of August,” Özel said when asked about the timing of the establishment of the new party.
He has been discreet about the new party as rumors were swirling and only hinted at it in speeches as he launched a campaign against the current CHP administration. The Özel camp has been quick to shoot down rumors that they would join an existing party instead of establishing a new one while Özel prioritized staying within CHP, to the chagrin of some supporters who urged him to act swiftly before losing the potential to run in the next general election.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said Wednesday that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s leadership and the Turkish people’s unity were decisive in defeating the failed July 15, 2016 coup attempt, describing the events as a defining moment in Türkiye’s modern history.
In a message marking Türkiye’s Democracy and National Unity Day, Aliyev commemorated those killed while resisting the coup attempt and extended his condolences to their families and the Turkish people.
Aliyev described July 15 as one of the most tragic as well as one of the most honorable chapters in Türkiye’s recent history, saying the attempted coup targeted the country’s constitutional order, democratic institutions and national will.
He said the attempt was thwarted through what he called the Turkish people’s determination, courage and commitment to their country, citing Erdoğan’s leadership in helping steer Türkiye through the crisis.
Referring to the Turkish leader, “Your determined and farsighted leadership, together with the unity of your people around you and their immediate response to your calls, became one of the main factors that saved your country from a great disaster on that critical night,” Aliyev said in the message.
He added that Türkiye emerged stronger from the failed coup attempt and demonstrated the strength of its national will and state traditions.
Azerbaijani president said the events of July 15 showed that attempts to undermine the state could not succeed in the face of unity between the nation and the government. He described the annual commemoration as a symbol of the Turkish people’s solidarity, resilience and commitment to democratic institutions.
Reaffirming Azerbaijan’s support for Türkiye, Aliyev underlined that Baku stood in solidarity with Ankara during the coup attempt under the principle of “One nation, two states.”
He said that solidarity reflected the enduring brotherhood between the two countries and expressed confidence that their strategic alliance would continue to deepen through joint efforts.
Aliyev concluded his message by wishing Erdoğan good health and continued success, while expressing hopes for lasting peace, stability and prosperity for Türkiye.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan joined lawmakers for a commemoration event at Parliament on Wednesday, on the 10th anniversary of heroic resistance to the July 15, 2016 coup attempt by the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ).
Hailing the resistance to the coup by the nation and lawmakers who defied airstrikes targeting Parliament 10 years ago, Erdoğan warned that FETÖ was alive, especially in online black propaganda against Türkiye. He ruled out any possibility of amnesty for FETÖ members while emphasizing that the group continued collaboration with “enemies of Türkiye.”
“Though they failed 10 years ago, they are seeking to revive their sinister ambitions. They are cooperating with everyone hostile to the Turkish nation to avenge their failure,” Erdoğan said in reference to the terrorist group.
“(FETÖ) is using social media to incite strife. FETÖ terrorists are servants of Türkiye’s enemies,” he noted. Erdoğan stressed that they were lobbying in cooperation with anti-Turkish lobbies. “They are resorting to every lie to target Türkiye,” he said. Erdoğan said, “FETÖ terrorists who sold their souls for $1 are also servants of avowed enemies of Türkiye.” He was referring to $1 bills with a serial number starting with the letter F, which was used by secret members of FETÖ to recognize each other.
Erdoğan said that “the honorable nation made a sacrifice to disrupt the dirty plot” on July 15, 2016, and spoiled “the imperialist project.” The president linked the accomplishments of Türkiye in the past decade, from the defense industry to security and foreign policy, to the “removal of FETÖ” from the state institutions and other places they infiltrated into.
He noted that the 2024 death of FETÖ leader Fetullah Gülen upset the motivation of the group, but they were still dangerous. “FETÖ threat is quarantined, but danger prevails. We are talking about a mindset pointing guns at this nation, we should remember that,” he said.
A group of members of the group calling themselves “Yeni (New) Herkul,” in reference to a website publishing Gülen’s so-called sermons in the past, have penned a public letter to Erdoğan and condemned the coup attempt while seeking to redeem themselves. Erdoğan did not openly mention the letter but was blunt in his opposition to FETÖ: “Mercy for the oppressor is oppression of the innocent. We should not fall for this,” he said.
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