Parliament’s anti-terror commission to hold first meeting

ANKARA

A commission tasked with the legal and political aspects of the ongoing "terror-free Türkiye" process will be convened on Aug. 5 at the parliament, with the objective of deciding over the modalities, name and other details regarding the panel.

Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş will preside over the commission’s first meeting with the participation of representatives from the political parties represented in parliament, with the exception of the İYİ (Good) Party.

Türkiye has accelerated its efforts to permanently rid itself of the terrorism problem after PKK announced its decision to disarm and dissolve itself in May and a group of its members dropped their weapons in a symbolic ceremony in northern Iraq.

On of the commission’s first decisions will be on the name of the panel. The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) are reportedly in favor of a name containing the words of national solidarity and unity while the People’s Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) is insisting that the name should address democracy and brotherhood in its title.

The main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) also underlined that the name of the commission should contain democracy and justice.

Another key issue the 51-member commission will discuss is the modality of the decision-making process. Kurtulmuş has notified the political parties that the decisions will be taken with a qualified majority upon the request of the CHP. The panel will decide whether the decisions will be taken with two-thirds or three-fifths of the members of the commission.

The top issues the commission will discuss will be amending anti-terror law and law on the execution of sentences in a bid to address the problems that can raise if some members of the terror organization chose to return to Türkiye. It will also find ways to help these people to integrate with society.

They will also discuss the duration of mandate of the panel. It is expected that it will work for the next three months until the opening of parliament on Oct. 1. The panel’s work will be reflected in a report to be submitted to parliament as a guide to follow in the further stages of PKK’s disarmament.

Another issue the panel will discuss in its first meeting is whether the work and meetings of the commission will be open to the press. The first meeting to be held on Aug. 5 will not be open to the media. But Kurtulmuş’s opening statements will be diffused to the media.

At the commission, the AKP will have 21 seats, the CHP 10, the MHP and the DEM Party will each have four members on the panel. Minor political parties and independent lawmakers will also be represented.