Turkish politics busy with a new peace process

Here is a summary of what happened in a day:

DEM Party MPs Sırrı Süreyya Önder and Pervin Buldan, who met with PKK leader Öcalan after the process started with the call of MHP leader Bahçeli, started to meet with political parties together with Ahmet Türk, the mayor of Mardin province Ahmet Türk.

The DEM Party delegation first visited Parliament Speaker Kurtulmuş. Önder made a brief statement after the visit, which lasted about an hour, and said that the meeting went well.

The delegation then met with Bahçeli. The delegation, which said it will visit all parties in the parliament, is expected to continue its meetings with the CHP and AKP on Monday, January 6. When asked whether they will meet with President Erdoğan, Önder replied, “They are talking. ” To the question “Are you hopeful?” Önder said, “Of course.”

A comprehensive statement is expected after all these visits.

Two comments

Speaking to Sabah newspaper, CHP leader Özel commented on the process with the following words: “We will do our part in good faith. I say ‘Yes’ to the new process to be carried out sincerely and transparently. I have one condition. Parliament should not be excluded. At every stage, I will look martyrs’ families and veterans in the eye.”

The only comment on the process from the AKP wing today came from Hatay MP Hüseyin Yayman: “I think that in February there will be a climate in which weapons will be laid down, weapons will be handed over and the PKK terrorist organization will no longer carry out actions in Turkey.” via

More to come:

DEM Party deputies Sırrı Süreyya Önder and Pervin Buldan, who met with PKK leader Öcalan, and Ahmet Türk, the mayor of the trustee-appointed Mardin province, will meet with the leaders of the Future, AKP and Saadet parties on January 6 and with the leaders of the YRP and DEVA parties on January 7. While the date of the appointment with the CHP has not yet been finalized, Abdullah Güler, the head of the group, will conduct the talks on behalf of the AKP instead of President Erdoğan. The IYI Party announced that they will not meet with the DEM Party delegation. Türk said of their meeting with Bahçeli: “When you see Mr. Bahçeli’s attitude, you are shocked, but you also realize that he is sincere. There is a 50 million Kurdish population in the Middle East and they see themselves as a part of Turkey. It is necessary to make this permanent .”