Parliamentary panel consults bar associations on anti-terrorism bid

ANKARA

A parliamentary commission overseeing the government's "terror-free Türkiye" initiative convened its sixth meeting on Aug. 27 with bar association leaders.

The meeting, chaired by Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş, brought together the Union of Turkish Bar Associations (TBB) chair Erinç Sağkan and the heads of the bar associations in Diyarbakır, Hatay, Mersin, Mardin, Van, Malatya, Sivas and Bingöl.

Representatives from Istanbul and Ankara also attended on behalf of their respective associations.

The National Solidarity, Brotherhood and Democracy Commission includes all political parties represented in parliament except the İYİ (Good) Party. It is tasked with tackling legal, social and political aspects of the anti-terrorism bid.

The commission’s seventh session will be held Aug. 28, when former parliamentary speakers are set to share their experiences in addressing terrorism.

The first session will hear from Hikmet Çetin, Ömer İzgi, Bülent Arınç, Köksal Toptan and Mehmet Ali Şahin, followed by Cemil Çiçek, İsmet Yılmaz, İsmail Kahraman, Binali Yıldırım and Mustafa Şentop.

As part of the bid, PKK announced its decision to dissolve and disarm after its jailed leader Abdullah Öcalan issued a historic call to the terror group. The first group of members symbolically burned their weapons in northern Iraq last month, and further steps in the disarmament process are expected.

Meanwhile, Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) lawmakers Pervin Buldan and Mithat Sancar, accompanied by lawyer Faik Özgür Erol, will travel to the İmralı prison island once again on Aug. 28 to meet with Öcalan.

The visit marks the first time DEM Party officials have met with him since the commission was established. The delegation is expected to brief Öcalan on the panel's work, while he is anticipated to issue messages to the public regarding PKK’s disarmament process.

The pro-Kurdish DEM Party, acting as a mediator between Öcalan and Ankara in the government’s campaign, last visited İmralı on July 25.