Parliament’s anti-terror panel hosts families of fallen soldiers

ANKARA

A parliamentary panel tasked to tackle legal, social and political aspects of the ongoing terror-free Türkiye bid has hosted the families of slain soldiers as well as veterans to assure them that the process does not involve any sort of negotiations with the terrorist organizations.

“If we could come to this point today and convene a commission to discuss ending the terror problem, it is thanks to our heroic martyrs and their families,” Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş said as he opened the new session of the National Solidarity, Brotherhood and Democracy Commission on Aug. 19.

“I want to make sure that this process does not involve any sort of negotiations,” Kurtulmuş said as he sought to soothe concerns of the families of the fallen soldiers.

Around 40,000 people, mostly security forces, were killed as a result of PKK’s four-decade terror campaign. There are a number of civil society organizations that oversee the rights of the families of the martyrs.

PKK announced its decision to end its armed conflict and dissolve itself in June. The first group of PKK members dropped and burned their weapons in a symbolic ceremony in northern Iraq in July.

“Türkiye has to come to a historic turning point,” Kurtulmuş said, but urged that there could be some internal and external powers that tend to poison and sabotage this process.

“This will be a difficult process. And one of the most difficult aspects is to strengthen social support for the terror-free Türkiye bid,” the speaker underlined.

All the political parties represented in the parliament, except for the Good (İYİ) Party, have joined the commission which will submit a comprehensive report on its work. It is expected to make proposals on some legal amendments regarding the anti-terror law and the law on the execution of sentences.