Anti-terror commission set for consecutive hearings

ANKARA

A parliamentary commission established to address the legal and political aspects of the government's "terror-free Türkiye" initiative will hold its fourth and fifth meetings on Aug. 19 and 20, hearing testimony from families of slain soldiers.

The National Solidarity, Brotherhood and Democracy Commission will first convene with relatives of soldiers killed by PKK and veterans.

Representatives of the Turkish War Disabled Veterans, Martyrs' Widows and Orphans Association, the Turkish Veterans and Martyrs' Families Foundation, the Turkish Martyrs' Relatives and Veterans' Solidarity Foundation and the Security Forces Disabled and Martyrs' Families Foundation are set to attend.

The second session will feature the "Diyarbakır Mothers," a group staging sit-in protests demanding the return of children they say were abducted by PKK. Family and Social Services Minister Mahinur Özdemir Göktaş has also been invited to present.

On Aug. 20, the first session will include the "Saturday Mothers," who have long gathered in Istanbul to seek accountability for forced disappearances during the 1980s military coup and subsequent state of emergency, as well as the "Peace Mothers," a group advocating for coexistence among ethnic groups.

The second session that day will hear from the Humanitarian Relief Foundation (İHH), the Human Rights Association (İHD), the Association for Human Rights and Solidarity for the Oppressed (MAZLUMDER) and the Tahir Elçi Human Rights Foundation.

The commission previously heard presentations from intelligence chief İbrahim Kalın, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya and Defense Minister Yaşar Güler on the government’s counterterrorism campaign. Members then submitted proposals on which civil groups to invite.

Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş, who chairs the commission, said at its third meeting the panel’s main aim is "to set a clear way for ridding Türkiye of the terrorism problem through consensus and joint steps."

The İYİ (Good) Party declined to participate, with its three seats reallocated to the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) and the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party). The 51-seat commission currently counts 22 AKP, 11 CHP and five DEM Party members.

The body is expected to continue work until October before submitting a report to parliament recommending legal changes under the “terror-free Türkiye” initiative.

The commission’s efforts come as PKK announced its decision to dissolve and disarm after a 40-year armed conflict against Türkiye, with its first group of fighters symbolically dropping and burning weapons in northern Iraq last month.