Speaker urges PKK to take steps to advance anti-terror bid

ANKARA

Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş said on Sept. 26 that PKK must take further steps to accelerate the government’s ongoing “terror-free Türkiye" initiative.

"We need to act quickly. The conditions in the region, the balance of power is prone to rapid change… We will move forward with firm steps," he told reporters at parliament.

The remarks came as Kurtulmuş was asked about the timetable for a parliamentary commission tasked with overseeing the initiative.

"This is such a process that you have to keep the scales very balanced. On one hand, you will take into account the honor of the Kurds, and on the other, you will take into account the sensitivities of the Turks,” he said.

When asked if preparations had been made regarding execution regulations, Kurtulmuş said PKK needed to act to accelerate the process. “Parliament's actions could be completed within a few days. However, the other pedal also needs to be worked on,” he said.

The commission has been reviewing the legal, social and political dimensions of the government’s anti-terrorism effort. Under the initiative, PKK declared a ceasefire and later announced its decision to disarm and dissolve following a call from its imprisoned leader, Abdullah Öcalan.

Regarding whether the commission would meet with Öcalan, Kurtulmuş said that issue had not yet been brought to the panel’s agenda.

“If it were brought to the agenda, the commission would make a decision by qualified majority, and we would abide by that,” he said.

In previous sessions, the commission gathered views from cabinet ministers, intelligence officials, bar associations, relatives of fallen soldiers, labor unions, business groups, nongovernmental organizations, academics and think tanks.

Kurtulmuş said spy chief İbrahim Kalın and ministers may revisit the commission to provide updates on the process.