Politics
Erdoğan terms terror-free Türkiye a success as key report awaited
Hours before he met a delegation from the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan lauded the accomplishments of the terror-free Türkiye initiative for the disarmament of the terrorist group PKK.
“We have successfully conducted the process for over the past 16 months despite sabotage attempts. At times, we took risks but reached the current stage without any trouble,” Erdoğan told the parliamentary group meeting of his Justice and Development Party (AK Party) in Ankara on Wednesday.
“The committee at Parliament is about to complete its report, and our Parliament will continue working in this new stage of the process,” Erdoğan added.
After the AK Party meeting ended, Erdoğan hosted Pervin Buldan and Mithat Sancar, two lawmakers from the party linked to the PKK. Buldan and Sancar are part of the so-called “Imrali delegation” who relayed the messages of the PKK’s ringleader, Abdullah Öcalan, jailed in the Imrali island prison, during the initiative. Last February, Öcalan called on the PKK to dissolve itself in a landmark move. The PKK has largely complied and announced dissolution last spring, months before its members held a symbolic ceremony in northern Iraq where they burned their weapons.
The initiative, originally launched by government ally Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli in 2024, is conducted discreetly as the issue is sensitive for Türkiye, which has lost tens of thousands in PKK attacks since the 1980s. The initiative has been unilateral so far as authorities denied any concessions to the PKK in return for dissolution.
The Turkish Parliament, last August, established the National Solidarity, Brotherhood and Democracy Committee to plan the future of the initiative. The committee, comprised of the AK Party, the MHP and the opposition, is working on a final report of suggestions to advance the initiative. The report will serve as a guideline for Parliament in case of new legislation for the initiative. The parties proposed leniency in sentences for PKK members not involved in acts of terrorism and the right to hope for Öcalan, who was jailed for life after his capture in Kenya in 1999. Mithat Sancar told reporters before their meeting with Erdoğan that the parliamentary committee had “grounds for compromise for the joint report.”
“We hope we will achieve something appropriate with the spirit of this process,” he said. Buldan noted that they were also received by Erdoğan in the past on the initiative, and their latest meeting came at a “certain point of the process.”
“There is a great expectation regarding the report,” she said.
Erdoğan stated that the People’s Alliance of the AK Party and MHP worked in solidarity, within the same strategy and tactics, “acting with courage at critical turning points.”
“In parallel with ending uncertainty in Syria’s north and full integration, the process will be relieved of a burden,” he said, referring to the PKK’s Syrian wing, YPG, which long ignored Öcalan’s call for dissolution.
The Syrian army recently retook a town occupied by the YPG and forced the group to comply with a March 2025 deal it failed to comply with, for integration with the post-Assad Syrian army.
He said that the parliamentary report will be approved with “constructive contribution of political parties.”
“After the report is released, political institutions will have a greater responsibility. The AK Party will act responsibly in this process, and we will be more constructive, more embracing. We won’t avoid taking risks,” he said, adding that at the same time, they would not overshadow the memory of martyrs died (in counterterrorism operations).
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Wednesday lashed out at a well-publicized insult targeting a mayor from his Justice and Development Party (AK Party).
Speaking at the parliamentary group meeting of the party, Erdoğan said the insult hurled at Zeynep Güneş, mayor of Mihalgazi in Eskişehir province, was a reminder of the mindset behind the Feb. 28 coup. Güneş was among the audience at the parliamentary group meeting, along with a group of women dressed in traditional garb like hers.
Mehmet Emin Korkmaz was behind a scandalous tweet that made rounds on the social media. Korkmaz, a member of the far-right Good Party (IP) hurled insults at Güneş. “Look at this mayor! She is more appropriate for milking cows in her farm than running a town,” Korkmaz wrote in a tweet accompanying a photo of Güneş. Güneş, a three-term mayor, usually wears a traditional dress popular among female villagers in parts of Türkiye. Korkmaz further disparaged Güneş as “uneducated” and mocked her şalvar, a part of her outfit.
Among mounting public outrage over the remarks, prosecutors in Eskişehir launched an investigation into Korkmaz on charges of inciting hatred in public. Korkmaz was detained and remanded into custody on Sunday. IP Secretary-General Osman Ertürk Özel announced on the same day that they referred Korkmaz to the party’s disciplinary board for expulsion as he offered the party’s support to Güneş for “rude behavior she is exposed to.”
As the women in white garbs cheered his speech, Erdoğan thanked “all sisters who accompanied our mayor here by wearing what women wore a century ago, during our War of Independence,” he said, referring to Şerife Bacı, Kara Fatma and Nene Hatun, heroines of that war whose outfits were all similar to what Güneş wore. “They reflect the proud stand and nobility of Anatolian women,” Erdoğan said.
“We will continue our fight against those who, for years, deprived women of their right to education, the right to work in the public sector and the right to be elected only because they wore a headscarf. We will continue our fight, insulting şalvar and tülbent women of Anatolia wore proudly for centuries,” he added, referring to the headdress and women’s trousers which are part of the traditional outfit.
“We never turned a blind eye to this mindset thriving on bans and suppression; we will never allow those wagging their fingers toward women. We will stand steadfast against those seeking to revive those dark old days,” he said.
The thorny issue of the Armenian “genocide” figured in U.S. Vice President JD Vance’s first visit to Armenia this week. The Armenian lobby in the United States was irked when Vance deleted a social media post about visiting an Armenian memorial.
Vance went to a memorial in Armenia’s capital, Yerevan, on Monday and posted about the visit on social media before deleting the message. His press secretary, Taylor Van Kirk, subsequently shared photos from the memorial visit without referencing the so-called genocide. Asked about the deleted post, a U.S. official said it was shared in error by staff not part of the delegation. “This is an account managed by staff that primarily exists to share photos and videos of the vice president’s activities,” a spokesperson for Vance said in a statement. When asked, the White House referred to its “message that was issued on Armenian Remembrance Day,” where it labeled the 1915 events as “one of the worst disasters of the 20th century.” “There’s been no change of policy at this time,” said spokesperson Karoline Leavitt.
The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA), the largest Armenian lobby organization in the U.S., criticized Vance’s office for removing the reference in its reposted message.
The organization leads efforts advocating for official U.S. recognition of Armenian claims regarding the events of 1915 and potential sanctions against Türkiye, representing one of the most prominent anti-Turkish groups in the U.S. Türkiye objects to the presentation of the 1915 incidents as “genocide,” describing them as a tragedy in which both sides suffered casualties. Ankara has repeatedly proposed the creation of a joint commission of historians from Türkiye and Armenia, as well as international experts, to tackle the issue.
The Foreign Affairs Committee of the Turkish Parliament, led by ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) lawmaker Fuat Oktay, embarked on a U.S. trip this week. Oktay spoke to journalists in Washington, D.C. after a meeting with the Turkish community at the embassy on Wednesday. He explained how, as lawmakers, they strived to enhance ties with the U.S. with a “positive agenda.”
Turkish-U.S. relations were somewhat strained under the Biden administration, but the election of Donald Trump appears to be adding momentum to the ties, especially toward a resolution of outstanding issues between the two countries, including sanctions.
Oktay said their visit primarily focused on moving the developing positive agenda between the two countries on the presidential or governmental level to the Congress. “The U.S. Congress, on a bipartisan aspect, is slower to catch up with these developments. This is an election year for the House of Representatives and the Senate, and they will concentrate more on domestic politics. Before this happens, we came here to build upon the positive agenda at the Congress as well. We will hold talks with our counterparts at the Senate and House of Representatives, where we will voice Türkiye’s views on relations. But beyond that, we are trying to establish a healthy communication channel. Rather than relying on lobbies for communication, we want a more structural relationship between the governments,” he said.
He stated that the sanctions would also be discussed, noting that Congress had a major role in lifting sanctions. “Lifting of the sanctions will reflect well on Turkish-U.S. relations and will have a good impact on developing a comprehensive cooperation in multiple fields, from the economy to the defense industry. We aim to take our relations to the next level,” he said, adding that this would also contribute to the regional peace.
More transparency in municipalities and improvement of public services are on the agenda of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party). A draft paper on municipal reforms was discussed at the party’s central executive board meeting, chaired by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, on Monday.
Erdoğan has earlier called for a better inspection on how municipal funds are utilized, as municipalities run by the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) face numerous investigations for rampant corruption, including bribes to mayors.
According to a study presented by the party’s Local Governments Directorate to the central executive board, mayors will be required to disclose the assets they acquire during their terms in office.
Municipal tender information, the number of contracts and detailed spending items will be shared with the public on a monthly basis. The draft proposal also scrutinizes the practice of mayors appointing relatives to municipal positions. The initiative aims to make service-oriented and efficient governance a mandatory component of the system.
The reform package also includes various measures to ensure the regular collection of municipalities’ growing debts to the Social Security Institution (SGK). The goal is to strengthen fiscal discipline and prevent public losses.
During the meeting, Erdoğan drew attention to what he described as opposition-run municipalities’ shortcomings in delivering services. Emphasizing that water management is a core municipal responsibility, Erdoğan said, “They say, ‘Let the State Hydraulic Works (DSI) handle it.’ We will do the work and deliver the water, but we must explain to the public that this is their responsibility. Water is the source of civilization, production, energy and life. Managing water requires experience and vision.”
Referring to his tenure as mayor of Istanbul, Erdoğan said, “I come from a mayoral background. We brought water to Istanbul from the Istranca Mountains, 180 kilometers (111.85 miles) away. We took over the municipality from the CHP mentality. CHP-run municipalities cannot deliver the water they have to the people. Our citizens are waiting in tanker lines with plastic containers. That is the difference between us,” he said, referring to recent water shortages in the opposition-run cities.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan appointed new justice and interior ministers under a decree published in the Official Gazette, with the incoming officials formally taking office during separate handover ceremonies on Wednesday in Ankara.
Akın Gürlek assumed the post of justice minister from Yılmaz Tunç at a ceremony attended by senior ministry officials and bureaucrats.
Tunç said reforms to the Constitution and legislation over the past two decades had aimed to reinforce Türkiye’s democratic legal framework.
Calling public office “a trust from the nation,” Tunç wished Gürlek success in his new role. He noted that he had previously worked alongside Gürlek during his tenure as deputy minister.
In his remarks, Gürlek thanked Erdoğan for appointing him and expressed appreciation to Tunç for his efforts. He said judicial reform strategies, human rights action plans and investments in digital justice infrastructure had contributed to strengthening the justice system.
Gürlek pledged to continue reforms in line with what he described as a “strong state, strong justice” vision. He said efforts would focus on accelerating judicial processes, reinforcing legal certainty and maintaining a firm stance against crime. Gürlek added that he would work in consultation with members of the judiciary, academia, bar associations and civil society organizations.
In a separate ceremony at the Interior Ministry, Mustafa Çiftçi took over as interior minister from Ali Yerlikaya following his appointment by presidential decree.
Yerlikaya congratulated Çiftçi and said he believed the new minister would continue efforts to safeguard public security and order. He thanked ministry staff for their service during his tenure.
Çiftçi, who previously served as governor of Erzurum, said he was aware of the challenges of the position and pledged to carry out his duties with dedication. He thanked Yerlikaya for his work and said he would seek to build on ongoing efforts in areas including combating crime and addressing irregular migration.
The appointments mark the latest changes in Erdoğan’s Cabinet as Türkiye continues to pursue judicial reforms and security policies under his administration.
Türkiye extended condolences to Canada Wednesday after a shooting in the British Columbia town of Tumbler Ridge killed 10 people, including the suspected gunman.
“We are deeply saddened by the loss of life resulting from the shooting that took place yesterday (Feb. 10) at a school in the province of British Columbia, Canada,” the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
“We extend our condolences to the families of those who lost their lives in this heinous attack and to the people of Canada, and we wish a speedy recovery to the injured,” it added.
Earlier, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said nine victims and one suspect died in the shooting, according to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC).
Six people were found dead inside Tumbler Ridge Secondary School, one person died while being transported to the hospital, and two others were found dead at a residence in the community believed to be connected to the shooting, it reported.
Police said the suspect was found dead inside the school from “a self-inflicted injury.”
The attack is the second-deadliest school shooting in Canada’s history, after a December 1989 shooting at Ecole Polytechnique in Montreal that left 14 people dead.
Tumbler Ridge, a town of about 2,400 people in western Canada, is located in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, roughly 680 kilometers (422 miles) from the U.S. border.
An investigation into the incident is ongoing.
Handover ceremony at the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Justice! Minister Mustafa Çiftçi and Minister Akın Gürlek started their new duties
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Erdoğan terms terror-free Türkiye a success as key report awaited
Handover ceremony at the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Justice! Minister Mustafa Çiftçi and Minister Akın Gürlek started their new duties
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