It was, as always, a crowded week on Türkiye’s political agenda. At the top of the list were developments surrounding the government’s “Terror-Free Türkiye” initiative. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit to Türkiye was another major headline. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s meetings on the G20 summit was another important item of the agenda. The Committee visits Öcalan The “Terror-Free Türkiye” process, ...
Last week’s agenda in Türkiye largely revolved around Palestine and Syria. with the disarmament process of PKK was once again under the spotlight. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan made remarks about the ongoing ceasefire process in Gaza. Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan’s remarks on developments in Syria stood out as another important event. Another topic was the chants to the leader of ...
Last week was a busy one in Türkiye’s political agenda. At the top of the list was the first meeting of the parliamentary commission for the “Terror-Free Türkiye”. The commission was named as “National Solidarity, Brotherhood and Democracy Commission”. Another important development was the decisions taken at the Supreme Military Council (YAŞ). And the fake university diploma scandal caused public ...
By Ferdi Tanhan – Deputy Chairman and Diyarbakır Provincial Chairman of the Vatan PartyOn July 11, the PKK held a symbolic disarmament ceremony in Iraq’s Sulaymaniyah with a group of 30 members and announced that the organization had been dissolved. The process, officially referred to as a “Terror-Free Türkiye,” is ongoing. A parliamentary commission, with participation from multiple parties, is ...
By Onur Sinan Güzaltan The US is planning to establish a new order in West Asia by mending ties between Türkiye and Israel through Syria. From Washington’s perspective, Türkiye is a partner it cannot afford to lose entirely in the region. And Israel is the US’s outpost in West Asia. So, easing tensions between Ankara and Tel Aviv is of ...
Ending 40 years of terror versus destroying the foundations of the republic – the opposing arguments in Türkiye’s current debate could not be further away. At their core is a process that became public in October 2024, when the leader of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), Devlet Bahçeli proposed a ‘right to hope’ for Abdullah Öcalan, founder and leader of ...
Despite the arrival of summer, Türkiye’s political agenda remained intense last week. The most prominent topic was the ruling party’s efforts for a new constitution. Process that the government’s started with the banner “terror-free Türkiye”, drawing international attention after PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan called on the organization to lay down arms, continues. Last week was also the Eid al-Adha. Political ...
By Adem Kılıç, Political Scientist/Author In the defense industry, Türkiye has evolved from a structure that was 80% foreign-dependent just 20 years ago to a point where it has reduced its foreign dependency to around 20%, largely based on independent, domestic and national production. However, this transformation does not only mean increasing military capacity. It means diversifying Türkiye’s foreign policy ...
By Deniz Yıldırım How was Abdullah Öcalan’s call to lay down arms and dissolve the PKK received among PKK circles in Europe? What did Kurdish associations, writers, and academics say about this call, which is likely to have significant repercussions in Türkiye, the region, and Europe? Some within PKK-affiliated circles voiced strong support, calling it “a major historical opportunity” and ...
As always, Türkiye’s agenda is intense. The massacre of Alawite civilians in Syria topped the headlines. Many political parties and organizations including the main opposition party, Republican People’s Party (CHP), made statements about the incident. Meanwhile, the “democratic initiative” process launched by the coalition partner of the Justice and Development Party (AKP), Nationalist Movement Party’s (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli, unfolds ...