Devlet Bahçeli, leader of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) renewed his call to the terrorist group PKK to disband itself.
Bahçeli, an ally of the government, informally launched the “terror-free Türkiye” initiative last year and paved the way for the formation of a delegation of lawmakers from the opposition Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM) linked to the terrorist group. Lawmakers visited Öcalan recently and conveyed his message of readiness to contribute to the initiative. They are expected to visit the jailed leader of the terrorist group Abdullah Öcalan again this month or in February.
Addressing MHP’s parliamentary group meeting on Tuesday in the capital Ankara, Bahçeli said it should be announced that PKK ceased to exist and acknowledge that terrorism would not achieve any means, without any preconditions, after a second visit to Imralı. Imralı refers to the island where Öcalan is being held.
Bahçeli, who long advocated for more pressure on the PKK through military means, signaled the new initiative when he unexpectedly shook hands with lawmakers from the DEM Party on Oct. 1 during the start of the new legislative term at Parliament. Until then, Bahçeli was a staunch opponent of DEM’s alignment with the PKK.
Initially interpreted as a simple act of courtesy, Bahçeli’s handshake took on a new significance on Oct. 22 when he called Abdullah Öcalan to dissolve the terrorist group. One day later, Ömer Öcalan, a nephew of the PKK ringleader and a lawmaker for DEM, announced he visited the latter, in a first visit to Öcalan in 43 months. Ömer Öcalan said his uncle told him that he can bring the “current process” to “a legal and political platform from a platform of conflict.” On Oct. 30, President Erdoğan announced his full support of Bahçeli’s initiative, praising the MHP leader for his brave, smart moves.
On Nov. 5, Bahçeli took his call one step further and said in a speech that Öcalan should benefit from a conditional, temporary release if he makes a speech at the parliamentary group meeting of DEM and openly calls for the PKK to lay down arms and cease any terrorist activity.
Since then, two lawmakers from DEM visited Öcalan. Then, along with a former lawmaker from DEM’s predecessor Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), the delegation visited political parties, including MHP and the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) to brief them about the visit. Most recently, they met former leaders of the HDP and so far, except for a few, opposition parties more or less endorsed the initiative.
On Tuesday, Bahçeli underlined that Türkiye has to “drain the swamp wherever it is,” referring to the YPG, the Syrian wing of the terrorist group that controls parts of northeastern Syria, just across the Turkish border.
He also emphasized the longstanding bond between Turks and Kurds. The PKK claims to fight for so-called Kurdish self-rule in southeastern Türkiye. “The end is near for oppressors who worked for decades to build walls of blood between us and our Kurdish brothers and their hired guns, treacherous separatist group,” Bahçeli said.
Bahçeli heaped praise on the DEM delegation’s talks and said he approved their approach to the matter. “Everyone siding with terror-free Türkiye, everyone acting honestly and without prejudice is part of a valuable effort,” he said. “PKK terrorists should either bury their weapons or surrender. Otherwise, they will face their inevitable fate,” Bahçeli, earlier said terrorists would be “buried with their weapons” if they refuse to disband. The MHP leader also rejected allegations of negotiations with terrorists as his critics claimed. “You cannot negotiate with terrorists, you only fight them,” he stressed.