“Our biggest legacy for you will be a Türkiye without any bit of terrorism, a Türkiye where security, peace and welfare reigns,” President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan told youth from all walks of life at a meeting at the Presidential Complex on Monday.
Erdoğan received young athletes, students and others at the complex’s splendid library on the occasion of May 19, Atatürk, Youth and Sports Day. “Once we walk on this path of terror-free Türkiye calmly, we will reach the Century of Türkiye goal faster,” he said, referring to an ambitious plan including reforms from democracy to economy, which Erdoğan announced ahead of the centenary of the Republic of Türkiye in 2023.
The president’s promising remarks prompted a young man hailing from Mardin in southeastern Türkiye, where the PKK carried out brutal attacks in the past, to tell the president that they were pleased with the prevalence of peace in their region. “We hear laughter of children instead of gunshots now, thanks to your efforts,” the young man told Erdoğan.
On May 12, the terrorist group PKK declared that it would dissolve, heeding a call by its jailed leader Abdullah Öcalan in February. The move is part of the terror-free Türkiye initiative launched by government ally Devlet Bahçeli, head of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP). Bahçeli has urged Öcalan to appeal to the group to lay down arms in a historic speech last year. Soon, his call evolved into a new initiative that saw People’s Equality and Democracy Party (DEM) lawmakers visiting Öcalan in the island prison where he is incarcerated in the Marmara Sea. As Öcalan warmed up to the idea, Türkiye moved to the next stage in the initiative, with the PKK convening a "congress."
Media outlets reported last week that PKK members will hand over their weapons within the next four months and some 3,500 terrorists will leave their hideouts in Iraq’s north.
In coordination with Iraq’s Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), Türkiye designated specific points there for the handover of weapons. The National Intelligence Organization (MIT) will coordinate the process with local authorities. Northern Iraq has been a hotbed of PKK activity and the group’s senior cadres are hiding in mountainous regions in KRG-administered areas. Officials say confirmation of the handover will be possible due to Türkiye’s knowledge of the inventory of the PKK’s arsenal. The terrorist group will also notify authorities about depots and shelters where they keep munitions and weapons. U.N. observers may also be present to monitor the process.
DEM, an opposition party intricately linked to the PKK, is a messenger between Öcalan and other political parties. On Tuesday, the party urged the government to take more steps. “Steps postponed on the grounds of ongoing violence should be taken now,” the party’s co-chair Tülay Hatimoğulları told the parliamentary group meeting of DEM in Ankara on Tuesday. She said mayors and assembly members should not be in prison in this new period, referring to DEM politicians jailed for their links to the PKK. A recent report by the Sabah newspaper said Türkiye would launch a “democratization drive” after the PKK fully lays down arms, and the drive would include amendments of laws, including the practice of appointment of trustees to municipalities and other entities whose mayors were convicted of aiding the PKK.
The party also launched a new round of talks with political parties after the PKK decided on dissolution, similar to another round of talks it held to consult on the process after Öcalan’s February call. The party’s co-chairs on Tuesday met Özgür Özel, head of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP). After the PKK announced its dissolution, Özel has hailed the move, while Erdoğan has indirectly thanked the CHP for supporting the initiative. “If the initiative succeeds, there will be no more martyrs, neither Turkish nor Kurdish mothers will cry, and billions will not be spent on weapons for the fight against terrorism,” Özel argued in comments on May 16.
A PKK figure, on the other hand, signaled that the group would not accept some conditions for the initiative. Quoted by Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Monday, Zagros Hiwa, a so-called spokesperson for the PKK, said they would reject an alleged “exile” for senior leaders of the PKK, referring to unconfirmed reports that the group’s leadership would be allowed to travel to countries including Norway and South Africa after dissolution. Hiwa, also called Türkiye, to ease prison conditions for Öcalan.
