Politics
Terror-free Türkiye set to head to Parliament
Ömer Çelik, spokesperson for the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party), told reporters on Sunday that it would take merely days before Parliament would set up a committee on the terror-free Türkiye initiative.
The committee is essential for a legal framework of the initiative that accomplished more than half of what it set out to with the first group of terrorist group PKK members abandoning their arms on Friday. Friday’s disarmament ceremony in northern Iraq was a historic turning point in Türkiye’s fight against terrorism for more than 40 years.
The initiative launched by government ally Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) last year is expected to proceed with full disarmament of the PKK and steps to formally end its existence. The terrorist group’s jailed leader, Abdullah Öcalan, and other actors in the initiative have underlined that a parliamentary committee was a necessity for the terror-free Türkiye plan they often refer to as a “peace process.” The committee is supposed to tackle the future of disarmed PKK members and address the fate of imprisoned terrorists.
Çelik was among AK Party members who joined President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for the party’s traditional “consultation camp” in Ankara’s Kızılcahamam district that began on Friday. He said that the party discussed everything “from security to justice” during the meetings and noted that Erdoğan’s speech on Saturday in Kızılcahamam had global repercussions, referring to the president’s description of the process as a new era. “Terrorism will end,” Çelik told reporters. He added that the disarmament should continue without interruption. “All wings of the PKK should lay down arms and cease to exist,” he said. The PKK has wings in Iran and Syria, while the first stage of disarmament is expected to involve groups in Iraq.
The spokesperson said previous governments also sought to disarm the PKK, noting that the state pursued both military means and soft power to address the issue. He underlined that the disarmament was not a result of “a bargain between the state and the PKK.” “Türkiye’s power in counterterrorism is clear. This is simply a work to end terrorism to dominate the agenda in Türkiye. We are open to criticism but you should not accuse others of treason while criticizing them,” he said, in reference to some opposition parties’ criticism of the initiative.
“Efforts will continue. By Allah’s will, full disarmament will happen within a few months,” Çelik noted.
Devlet Bahçeli, head of the government’s ally, the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), issued a written statement ahead of July 15, Democracy and National Unity Day. The day marks the ninth anniversary of public resistance that quelled a coup attempt by Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) infiltrators in the army.
The MHP joined the People’s Alliance with the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) in the aftermath of the 2016 coup attempt, with Bahçeli showing up at a massive democracy rally alongside President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to celebrate the victory over putschists one month after the coup was quashed.
Bahçeli likened the coup attempt to the Crusades that sought to retaliate against the Turkish nation’s noble gains. “They tried another Crusade nine years ago. For this reason, that date is an important threshold in Turkish history,” he said. He noted that FETÖ was at the heart of a plot to invade Anatolia and branded its infiltrators as “hypocrites posing as the faithful.”
“Future generations should always remain vigilant and united so as not to face similar betrayals,” Bahçeli warned.
“Thankfully, the Turkish nation embraced martyrdom and the honor of being veterans to crush those traitors who rained down bombs on people. The Turkish nation faced gunfire to defend its sacred existence. This tremendous national awakening and legendary unity kept Türkiye intact,” he said.
As Türkiye marks the ninth anniversary of the July 15, 2016, coup attempt, perpetrated by the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ), a new chapter is unfolding for the clandestine organization. With its founder and self-proclaimed spiritual leader Fethullah Gülen reportedly deceased in his Pennsylvania compound earlier this year, questions loom large over the fate of the group and its future influence, or lack thereof, both in Türkiye and abroad.
The organization, long accused of infiltrating the Turkish state over decades, orchestrated a brutal coup attempt that killed 252 people and injured thousands more. Since then, Türkiye has treated FETÖ as a national security threat, dismantling its networks and purging its operatives across institutions. Yet, while the domestic fight has yielded measurable success, the group’s overseas remnants continue to draw scrutiny.
According to Nur Özkan Erbay, head of the Brand Office of the Presidency’s Directorate of Communications and author of the book “Threat of Messianic Movements to State and Regime Security: A Case Study of the Fethullah Gülen Terrorist Organization,” FETÖ is now “in a vegetative state” following Gülen’s demise.
“FETÖ’s indoctrination was entirely tied to its so-called spiritual leader. With his elimination, the organization is effectively brain-dead,” Erbay told Daily Sabah in an exclusive interview. “Its vital functions within Türkiye have been irreversibly terminated. However, its presence in foreign countries, especially Western Europe and the United States, has merely gone underground.”
While FETÖ’s influence has diminished dramatically, Erbay emphasized that the group has not entirely vanished. Instead, its members have adopted more covert tactics. Their financial network has eroded amid internal power struggles and the loss of institutional privileges, particularly in the U.S. charter school system, where several affiliated schools are now facing mounting tax penalties.
“Due to increasing regulatory pressure from the U.S. tax and customs system, FETÖ is gradually losing its operational flexibility and immunity. Meanwhile, Western governments’ more restrictive policies toward immigration are making it harder for the group to recruit new members from Türkiye or third countries,” she added.
Indeed, Turkish officials have long argued that the group’s educational and media institutions abroad serve as both funding channels and fronts for espionage and influence operations. Reports over the years have highlighted the group’s tactics, including disguising identities, abandoning Turkish affiliations and using new aliases to infiltrate host country institutions.
Erbay also warned that despite its weakened state, FETÖ retains a troubling capacity for “asymmetric threats” – including blackmail, espionage and infiltration.
“The group still has human capital that can be repurposed for covert operations against foreign states,” she said. “That makes FETÖ not just a relic of Türkiye’s internal strife but an ongoing international threat.”
This assessment aligns with the view in Ankara, where officials stress that while FETÖ may be limping, it remains a strategic concern abroad. Turkish diplomacy in recent years has leaned on bilateral ties to encourage host nations to curtail the group’s operations – often with mixed results, especially in countries where FETÖ-linked institutions maintain legal protections.
Murat Aslan, a faculty member at Hasan Kalyoncu University and a researcher at SETA, pointed out that despite nine years, many questions remain unanswered.
“The anatomy of FETÖ is still not drawn, which is vital. Who created this group, Fethullah Gülen or was it created by other forces? What was the vision of Fethullah Gülen? What is the vision of the organization now? We have to decipher this. A comprehensive analysis must be made, extending beyond the military aspect, to examine how the group infiltrated all aspects of life.”
He similarly underlined that “the threat is not over yet” as the terrorist group continues operations, especially in countries in Africa or Central Asia.
Aslan further highlighted that FETÖ members in the West have taken critical positions, such as those of lecturers in universities, think tanks or technology companies. “We have to be prepared for this new kind of threat.”
Yet domestically, the picture is far more decisive.
The terrorist group faces operations almost daily as investigators still try to unravel its massive network of infiltrators everywhere. In 2024 alone, police apprehended hundreds of FETÖ suspects across the country, including fugitives on western borders trying to flee to Europe. Just last month, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan underlined the determination in fighting the terrorist group, assuring authorities would root out the remaining FETÖ infiltrators in Turkish institutions, citing the “meticulous work of police and intelligence units.”
Ankara has also worked to secure extraditions and asset seizures globally, while pressuring allies to monitor and curtail the group’s educational and financial arms. The collapse of central leadership has added to the organization’s disintegration, with internal factions vying for control amid dwindling resources.
“The infighting, especially over succession and control of finances, has further debilitated the group,” said Erbay. “It’s no longer a monolith but a fragmented network with no coherent strategy.”
Türkiye’s long-term counter-FETÖ strategy has also evolved. No longer confined to security operations, Ankara has built enduring institutional resilience by reforming recruitment and oversight processes within the military, judiciary and bureaucracy. Furthermore, the state has expanded its geopolitical influence, bolstering international cooperation on counterterrorism.
“The era in which FETÖ could be instrumentalized against Türkiye has ended,” Erbay asserted. “Türkiye has established irreversible strategic leverage, both in national capabilities and in its regional and international standing. No actor can now afford to jeopardize its alliance with a stronger-than-ever Türkiye.”
Addressing a gathering of his Justice and Development Party (AK Party) on Sunday, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said that they were on the threshold of saving the nation from the shackles of terrorism, referring to the terror-free Türkiye initiative. He said Türkiye would be stronger in terms of security as well as economy with the end of terrorism.
The PKK terrorist group began laying down arms on Friday, a development hailed by Erdoğan in a historic speech on Saturday. In Sunday’s speech, Erdoğan said Ankara is hoping to have tangible results about the parliamentary committee that is set to be founded in the coming days to oversee the initiative.
The president also criticized opposition politicians and others opposing the initiative. “No one has a right to undermine (the terror-free Türkiye initiative), the nation won’t forgive efforts to hinder it,” he said.
He stated that the AK Party, along with government ally Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), and the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), which relayed PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan’s messages to the terrorist group, were determined to bring the initiative to a successful conclusion.
On Saturday, Erdoğan addressed the nation at the same meeting and called for full support for the disarmament process.
Thirty PKK terrorists burned their weapons at the mouth of a cave in northern Iraq on Friday, marking a symbolic but significant step toward ending decadeslong violence that killed over 40,000 people in Türkiye.
Today is a new day; a new page has opened in history,” Erdoğan said on Saturday.
In the same speech, he said the recent steps have united the nation, and now Parliament will play a critical role in setting up a legal framework for completing the disarmament process. “I hope that our Parliament will support this process with the broadest possible participation,” Erdoğan said.
Erdoğan described the terrorist group’s decision to lay down arms as a victory for Türkiye, stating that Turks, Kurds, Arabs – all 86 million citizens –emerged as winners. Underlining a broader vision of regional unity, Erdoğan also said: “Today, the spirit of Malazgirt, the Jerusalem alliance, and the core of the War of Independence are being reshaped,” referring to past victories of Türkiye with the unity of Turks, Kurds and Arabs against common enemies.
In Saturday’s speech, he further noted that the scope of the initiative extends beyond Türkiye’s borders, stressing that a terror-free Türkiye is not only an issue for Kurdish citizens at home but also for Kurdish communities in Iraq and Syria, with the process actively discussed with them.
The Terror-free Türkiye initiative that involves the disarmament of the PKK terrorist group enters another crucial week after the first batch of terrorists abandoned and burned their arms last Friday in a landmark step.
Parliament will work to set up a committee to oversee the initiative when it reconvenes on Wednesday. In the meantime, two lawmakers from the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), colloquially known as the “Imralı delegation,” will hold talks with leaders of political parties, including the initiative’s architect, Devlet Bahçeli, leader of government ally Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and Özgür Özel, chair of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP).
The committee will be key to determining a legal framework for the next steps in the initiative for the complete dissolution of the PKK. Bahçeli has proposed that the committee can be named the “National Unity and Solidarity Committee” in a bid to underline that the initiative would enforce the notion of bonds between Turks and Kurds. Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş will formally request that political parties in Parliament submit the names of members to be elected to the committee on Wednesday. The ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party), MHP, CHP, DEM Party and New Path (a coalition of three smaller parties) will likely contribute members to the committee, according to a report by the Hürriyet newspaper on Monday. The Good Party (IP), a far-right party that has long opposed the initiative, will reportedly opt out of the committee.
The number of committee members will be between 35 and 40, as other parties in Parliament that do not have parliamentary group status due to their limited number of seats will likely join it.
The committee will work until the end of this month and probably till August, as Parliament had already postponed its summer recess for its establishment. It will focus on legislative work for the legal framework of the initiative, although reports say the committee’s decisions will be “advisory.” Still, they may serve as guidelines for lawmakers for future discussions and probable amendments to laws to accommodate the requirements of the initiative. The committee will also hear ministers and bureaucrats involved in monitoring the initiative.
The Hürriyet newspaper reported that full disarmament of the PKK may take up to five months and the committee is expected to outline a roadmap for reintegration of PKK members into society, possible leniency in sentencing of the group’s members and confidence-building measures for integration of former members of the PKK not involved in acts of terrorism. Media reports say the initiative will also extend to PKK convicts and elderly, ill inmates convicted of membership in the terrorist group may benefit from leniency in their prison terms, pointing out existing laws for such convicts. But this will likely require removal of the PKK’s status as a national threat to Türkiye’s existence, something that the National Security Council, chaired by the president, has the final say.
Flags adorned buildings across Türkiye, from the northwest to the southeast, as the PKK terrorist group took the first step to end its decades-old campaign of violence on Friday. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Saturday hailed the first group of PKK members burning down their weapons in Iraq and called upon the public to hang Turkish flags on their homes and businesses to symbolize the beginning of a new era.
Public buildings were draped with flags on Sunday, just two days before another historic anniversary: Türkiye’s resistance against a 2016 coup attempt.
The beginning of the disarmament is warmly welcomed by the nation that suffered for years from terrorist attacks that have killed thousands since the 1980s. But it had a particularly special meaning for two groups of people: parents of the youth brainwashed to join the PKK and families of people killed in terror attacks.
Bedriye Uslu is among them. Uslu is part of “Diyarbakır Mothers,” a group of families who began a sit-in protest in the eponymous Turkish city in 2019 to protest the PKK’s recruitment of Kurdish youth. Hours after the first videos of PKK terrorists burning their weapons in Iraq emerged, Uslu spoke to Anadolu Agency (AA) and expressed her approval for the terror-free Türkiye initiative that led to the disarmament. She is among the mothers from 62 families staging the sit-in and joined them in the hope of a reunion with her son Mahmut, who left to join the PKK 14 years ago.
She thanked President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and government ally Devlet Bahçeli, who informally launched the initiative last year when he called on the PKK’s jailed leader, Abdullah Öcalan, to convince his group to lay down arms.
“What happened in Iraq on Friday gave us hope. We hope all our children (who joined the PKK) will abandon their arms and burn them. I pray to Allah to see that day, to reunite with my son. We hope the tears of parents will end and everyone will be reunited with their children,” she said.
Nihat Aydın, who has taken part in the sit-in since it began for a reunion with his son Mehmet, said it was “symbolic” seeing 30 PKK members abandon arms, and it boosted their hope. “I hope my son will join them too,” he said.
Müslüme Topçu, whose soldier son Ahmet Topçu was killed in Operation Peace Spring against the PKK’s Syrian wing, echoed wishes for an end to terrorism.
Topçu told Sabah newspaper that her son was among the “thousands of sons who fell victim to terrorism.”
“We hope it will end now. We have high hopes for a terror-free Türkiye. May no other mother suffer from the loss of their children,” she said.
The PKK’s disarmament is also good news for Diyarbakır, a major city in the southeast with a large Kurdish population. Diyarbakır has been a hot spot of PKK terrorism, including the notorious “trench incidents” when the group’s members launched street attacks and dug “trenches” to confront the military between 2015 and 2016.
The province is known as the birthplace of the PKK, which recruited many to its ranks from Diyarbakır. Locals now hope that social peace will prevail in the province and that the economy will thrive.
Uğur Altınar, a shopkeeper in Diyarbakır’s historic Sur district, said they hoped more tourists would visit. Although at the heart of the southeastern region and boasting a rich history, Diyarbakır was shunned as a major tourism destination in the past due to heightened PKK activity, while other provinces in the region reaped the benefits of tourism.
“We will have more business, but more importantly, future generations will live in peace. I hope it will be good for the entire Türkiye,” Altınar told Ihlas News Agency (IHA) on Sunday.
Ali Baran Çelik, another business owner, said people who had second thoughts about Diyarbakır will “certainly visit the city now.” “It gives an opportunity for people from different parts of Türkiye to mingle with each other,” he said.
Associate professor Vahap Coşkun from Dicle University in Diyarbakır says Türkiye went through a critical threshold after the first group of PKK members laid down arms.
“This is a point of no return. We are in a new era where weapons are silenced, clashes have ended, and people can talk about their democratic demands. It will be good for everyone in Türkiye,” he said.
Mahmut Şimşek, head of the Diyarbakır-based NGO Social Consensus, said it has been more than 100 years since “people were united again,” referring to the War of Independence, in which Turks and Kurds fought together against invading forces.
“We need patience for the process to continue. It is too early to say that everything’s over after the first PKK group started abandoning arms. People should be well informed about this historic day. Regardless, they are witnessing the beauty of it. It has been more than 40 years, and for years, people cried over the graves of loved ones. It is everyone’s responsibility to ensure social consensus and peace; every politician, every opinion leader has a responsibility to use this historic opportunity,” Şimşek told IHA.
Şahismail Bedirhanoğlu, who leads a chamber of industrialists and businesspeople in Diyarbakır, says an era was over and a new one began after Friday’s disarmament ceremony.
“We are excited that weapons and violence are out of the equation now. Those two things plagued the region, especially its economy. The future will belong to democratic politics and both Türkiye and the region will have a great momentum in terms of economy, democratization and political reforms. I hope the developments will be a blessing for our country,” he said.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan held phone calls with heads of state and government after the PKK terrorist group started disarmament on Friday.
On Saturday and Sunday, Erdoğan talked to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al Sudani and United Arab Emirates (UAE) President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. The leaders wished further success in the terror-free Türkiye initiative that culminated in the first batch of PKK terrorists burning their weapons at a ceremony in northern Iraq.
The terror-free Türkiye plan was built upon a call by government ally Devlet Bahçeli, who last year urged PKK jailed leader Abdullah Öcalan to invite the group to abandon arms. Erdoğan endorsed the initiative, which was later shaped by visits to Öcalan by a PKK-linked party. In May, the PKK announced that it would heed Öcalan’s February call for dissolution.
Türkiye has taken a step to remove terrorism from both the country’s and the region’s agenda through its terror-free Türkiye initiative, Erdoğan told Sheikh Mohammed in his phone call.
During the call, Erdoğan said these efforts will continue with determination, according to Türkiye’s Directorate of Communications.
Sheikh Mohammed expressed that Ankara’s terror-free Türkiye goal will significantly contribute to regional security, and also extended his wishes for a successful completion of the process.
Erdoğan also stressed that the strategic partnership between Türkiye and the UAE has yielded positive results in all fields, noting the great potential between the two countries, particularly in the defense industry and emerging technologies.
The Turkish president added that Ankara is closely monitoring the peace negotiations between Azerbaijan and Armenia launched in Abu Dhabi and will continue supporting endeavors to establish lasting calm in the Caucasus.
Erdoğan on Saturday underlined Türkiye’s commitment to eliminating terrorism in the region during separate phone calls with the Iraqi prime minister and Azerbaijani president.
In a phone call with Al Sudani, he said that Ankara aims to permanently eradicate terrorism from the region.
“The terror-free Türkiye process is being carried out with great care,” Erdoğan said.
He stressed that Türkiye will continue to take decisive steps and remain vigilant against attempts to undermine this process.
The two leaders also discussed regional as well as global issues.
The president also said that both countries continue to develop their relations by evaluating cooperation opportunities in various areas, primarily the Development Road, based on the principle of mutual benefit.
In a separate phone call with Aliyev, Erdoğan said that the process initiated with the goal of a terror-free Türkiye will also contribute to clearing the region of terrorist groups, adding that the successful completion of the process will strengthen regional security.
Aliyev, for his part, said that the success Türkiye has achieved in the process launched with the goal of a terror-free Türkiye is significant and expressed his satisfaction with the progress made, and conveyed his hope that the process will be successfully completed and reach its goal.
The call also addressed the Türkiye-Azerbaijan bilateral relations, as well as regional and global issues.
Erdoğan said that Türkiye will continue to advance its relations with Azerbaijan in all areas, adding that Ankara continues to support efforts aimed at establishing lasting peace in the South Caucasus.
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