Kurtulmuş to meet NGOs in Diyarbakır amid anti-terror bid
DİYARBAKIR
Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş will travel to the southeastern city of Diyarbakır on Oct. 17 to meet representatives of non-governmental organizations amid the government’s "terror-free Türkiye" initiative.
Members of Parliament’s presidential council and the National Solidarity, Brotherhood and Democracy Commission — which Kurtulmuş chairs — have also been invited to the program in the Kurdish majority province, reports said on Oct. 10.
Before the meetings, Kurtulmuş will attend Dicle University’s academic year opening ceremony and a local cultural festival.
The commission he leads is tasked with reviewing the social, legal and political dimensions of the initiative. Under the project, PKK declared a ceasefire and announced its decision to disarm and dissolve following calls from its imprisoned leader, Abdullah Öcalan.
In previous sessions, the commission heard views from cabinet members, intelligence officials, labor unions, business associations, legal experts and families of fallen soldiers. Lawmakers are expected to propose a set of reforms after the consultation phase concludes.
The upcoming meeting follows remarks from Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli, a key ally of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who said a delegation from the commission could visit the İmralı prison island off Istanbul to meet Öcalan in person.
“If necessary, a group from the National Solidarity, Brotherhood and Democracy Commission can go to İmralı island to hold a face-to-face meeting [with Öcalan], and his messages should be heard firsthand,” Bahçeli said earlier this week.
While the idea of direct talks with Öcalan has been raised before, the commission has not yet decided on the matter. Asked by reporters, Kurtumluş said on Sept. 26 that such a meeting was “not currently on the agenda.”
