ISTANBUL

Turkish parliament speaker Numan Kurtulmus said on Wednesday that developing a model unique to the country in the pursuit of a “terror-free Türkiye” would mark a historic success for the National Solidarity, Brotherhood, and Democracy Committee.

Speaking at the sixth meeting of the committee, established under the parliament to support the goal of a terror-free Türkiye, Kurtulmus said the commission has already made significant progress and noted the importance of ensuring a solid legal framework in the next stages of the process.

‘Model unique to Türkiye’

Reflecting on the past nine months of the commission's work, Kurtulmus described the progress as “remarkable,” noting that similar peace processes in other countries have taken years to reach the same stage.

“This issue must be resolved swiftly and removed from Türkiye’s agenda,” he emphasized.

"Establishing and implementing this model, unique to Türkiye, will be one of the historic achievements of this historic commission. This is also what our nation expects from us," he added.

Kurtulmus stressed that fostering a broader public consensus across Türkiye remains one of the commission’s primary goals.

He noted that previous sessions had revealed a shared determination among participants from diverse segments of society, many of whom had been directly affected by decades of conflict.

He also underlined the message conveyed by the families of martyrs and veterans who have long suffered due to the PKK terrorist organization, which is also known for abducting and forcibly recruiting children, saying: “We have paid the price; we do not want future generations to do the same. We buried our children; now let us bury the weapons.”

The PKK, listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the US, and the EU, convened its congress in May and announced its dissolution, following a February call by its imprisoned ringleader, Abdullah Ocalan, for an end to the decades-long attacks.

On July 11, a group of 30 PKK terrorists, including 15 women, surrendered and destroyed their weapons in Iraq’s Sulaymaniyah province by throwing them into a burning cauldron.

As part of the new initiative, the Turkish parliament established the National Solidarity, Brotherhood, and Democracy Committee to evaluate the political and legal aspects of the post-terror era.