The process remains uncertain

News Centre

Beyond the existence of the commission set up in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, uncertainties continue regarding the Middle East-centred process. While the Palace regime continues its operations against the opposition, the ongoing ‘peace’ debates have deepened the questions.

Speaking yesterday in Adana, DEM Party’s Tülay Hatimoğulları called on the government over the successive operations against CHP municipalities. Proposing the establishment of a commission in Parliament to monitor local administrations, Hatimoğulları said, “If there really is corruption, let it be exposed, but this should be done for all municipalities. However, to try to liquidate opposition municipalities for political reasons in this way harms Turkey’s democracy and the process of peace and a democratic society.”

Hatimoğulları said, “The implementation of Constitutional Court and ECHR rulings, and the release of Can Atalay, Osman Kavala, Figen Yüksekdağ, and Selahattin Demirtaş is also essential.”

She noted that they had not been able to meet PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan for a month, saying, “What was our expectation? There would be systematic meetings with Mr Öcalan, conditions would be created for him to live and work freely, and we are still waiting for these. We know very well that in the negotiations between the PKK and the state he is the chief negotiator. Not meeting him or disrupting the meetings means the process is disrupted. Therefore, these meetings must take place immediately. Let me also remind you of Bahçeli’s first statements, you will recall he said Öcalan should come and speak in Parliament. There are, of course, very important expectations from this commission. The enactment of democratic integration laws, freedom laws, bringing the execution law onto the agenda, and the adoption of a special law, all of these must urgently be carried forward by this commission. We attach great importance to progress being made in these preparations by 1 October.”

At the rally organised by DEM Party in Van, it was also stressed that the government had taken no concrete steps and continued its attacks on the opposition. The speeches emphasised that Öcalan’s isolation continued. DEM Party Co-Chair Tuncer Bakırhan said, “We are here to defend peace. We believe in peace. We know very well how sacred, how holy a cause and struggle peace is. Ending the imprisonment of Selahattins and Figens is only possible by embracing the struggle for peace and the peace process. The public in Turkey should look carefully at this square in Van. The people of Van, the Kurdish people, despite all their suffering and all that they have lived through, are still calling for peace. If there is any conscience and honour, you would embrace peace as much as this suffering people do. The isolation imposed on Mr Öcalan is an isolation imposed on peace.”

Note: This article is translated from the original article titled Süreç belirsizliğini koruyor, published in BirGün newspaper on August 25, 2025.