Bahçeli says political parties must take ‘as much responsibility as PKK’ in peace efforts

Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli has called on political parties in Turkey to take greater responsibility in efforts to resolve the Kurdish question.

“The issue for Turkey is peace. Everyone has responsibilities. The PKK has assumed this responsibility, and legal parties in Turkey must take at least as much responsibility as the PKK,” Bahçeli said in an interview published today in the government-aligned daily Sabah.

He added, “Peace is not a bird with one wing. To make peace fly, there must be a second wing. One wing has been achieved through Öcalan, the PKK has been dissolved, and weapons have been abandoned.”

The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which had waged an armed struggle for four decades, announced its dissolution in May after following a call from its imprisoned leader, Abdullah Öcalan. The group held a symbolic disarmament ceremony in July.

Bahçeli’s remarks mark a departure from a recent statement where he signaled a military operation in Syria. On Sep 2, he had called on the Kurdish-led autonomous administration in Syria’s north and east to disarm, warning that otherwise Turkey might launch an operation. He had also expressed concern that PKK militants who disbanded might cross into Syria to join the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the armed wing of the autonomous zone.

Turkey regards the SDF as an extension of the PKK. The SDF, however, denies organizational ties and has said Öcalan’s call does not apply to them.

Also touching on the parliamentary committee that has been working since early August to oversee the peace process, Bahçeli said, “We have now reached the stage of defining the conditions for living together. The commission in parliament continues its work efficiently.”

Reinstatement of mayors

The MHP leader also addressed the issue of mayors removed from office after the 2024 local elections, singling out two of them whose reinstatement he supported.

One of them is Ahmet Türk, a veteran politician from the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM), who was dismissed as mayor of Mardin in November and replaced by a government-appointed trustee.

“Ahmet Türk was the mayor of Mardin but was removed from office. He has contributed to dialogue with the PKK for the sake of peace and stability in Turkey,” Bahçeli said. “In this situation, Ahmet Türk should be reinstated. He should reunite with his municipality. This will contribute to fostering brotherhood and peace.”

He also spoke about Ahmet Özer, a member of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) and the former mayor of İstanbul’s Esenyurt district. Özer, an ethnic Kurd, was arrested in December on terrorism-related charges and dismissed from office.

“Ahmet Özer is in the same situation,” said Bahçeli. “If there is corruption or illegal conduct in the municipality, that is a separate matter. But the statements he made about the PKK in the past are another matter.

“If Turkey has entered a peace process, then Ahmet Özer must be released. If corruption is involved, he should face the necessary punishment. We must distinguish between the two.”

The charges against Özer stem partly from remarks he made during the failed peace process between 2013 and 2015.

Other DEM mayors have also been removed from office in terrorism-related investigations. Trustees were appointed to replace the elected mayors of Dersim, Hakkari, and Batman, as well as several district municipalities.

Within the CHP, 15 mayors, including those of the greater cities of İstanbul, Adana, and Antalya, have been suspended over corruption investigations. Unlike the DEM cases, however, replacements were chosen through municipal council votes, allowing the CHP to retain control of these cities.

The government’s crackdown on the main opposition party has drawn criticism from the DEM Party, which has described it as a contradictory approach: advancing peace negotiations while simultaneously pursuing a judicial crackdown on opposition mayors.

Turkey’s latest peace initiative began after Bahçeli, the main ally of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, called for such a process in October last year. At the time, he suggested that Öcalan could benefit from a conditional release in exchange for urging the PKK to dissolve. (VK)