In his first major public appearance in weeks, government ally and Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli hosted leaders of the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM) on the opposite side of the political spectrum on Tuesday. The meeting was part of the DEM Party's visits to political parties after the PKK, the terrorist group that the DEM Party was associated with, announced its dissolution on May 12.
Speaking later at a ceremony dedicated to nationalist martyrs in the capital Ankara, Devlet Bahçeli said that the "time was neigh” for building a “century of brotherhood (unity).”
Bahçeli, the architect of the terror-free Türkiye initiative, fell ill at the peak of the initiative, when the PKK’s jailed ringleader called the group to lay down arms. He rested for weeks due to his illness before issuing written statements regarding the initiative. After a meeting with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and brief appearances, Bahçeli signaled a return to full-time politics when he welcomed a DEM Party delegation in his offices at Parliament. The party’s co-chairs, Tuncer Bakırhan and Tülay Hatimoğulları, and two other lawmakers were warmly welcomed by Bahçeli at the door of his offices.
The MHP did not issue a statement after the meeting, while the DEM Party said in a statement that they discussed next steps in the initiative. The DEM Party said their talks focused on Parliament’s possible role in moving the initiative forward, a new legislative package (for the framework of dissolution), as well as work on a new constitution. The party said the talks were constructive and noted that Bahçeli suggested the establishment of a parliamentary committee to tackle the progress made on the initiative. The DEM Party is scheduled to hold talks with the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party).
Hours later, Bahçeli visited a monument erected in the capital in memory of thousands of nationalist activists who were killed in the past decades, mostly victims of political turmoil in the 1970s and those who were jailed by the military junta of 1980. He hit out at the MHP’s critics after his call for terror-free Türkiye, in thinly veiled barbs at the Good Party (IP), founded by former MHP members who long opposed the initiative. “They unfairly accuse the nationalist movement and betray the sacred memory of our martyrs. Everything has its time. The time is near. It is the century of Türkiye, a century of unity. A century of national unity is emerging,” he said, referring to the government’s vision of the Century of Türkiye in the second century of the Republic of Türkiye, including ending terrorism that plagued the country for decades.
Tuncer Bakırhan echoed Bahçeli’s sentiment on the unity of Türkiye. Addressing the parliamentary group meeting of his party, Bakırhan said they wanted “to carry peace, not the coffins of youth of this country.” He hailed their talks with Bahçeli as very productive. Bakırhan emphasized that trust should be built for progress in terror-free Türkiye efforts, and the public should be convinced. He said, like the DEM Party, the MHP was working to convey the initiative to the public correctly. “The opposition parties also have a fine stand, but we call on them to inform their supporters more and encourage them to take part in this process actively,” Bakırhan said. He also claimed the media did not adopt a discourse fit for the initiative and urged them to “adopt the language of peace.”
He also dismissed criticism of the initiative, which is portrayed as a concession to the separatist, secessionist agenda of the PKK by some opposition circles. “We don’t have a problem with the capital, language and flag of this country,” Bakırhan said. He also countered criticism of their talks with opponents, the AK Party and the MHP. “Peace and democracy are beyond the ruling alliance. We are not after cheap political calculations, we follow the path of peace and democracy,” he said.
