The National Unity, Solidarity, and Democracy Committee, established in parliament to prepare the legal framework for the ongoing Kurdish peace process, has extended its work by an additional two months to complete its final report, Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş announced today at the committee’s 20th meeting, which he chaired.
Since early August, the committee has listened to activists, academics, and representatives of civil society organizations. Earlier this month, it concluded the hearings phase and moved on to drafting its report.
“Our committee has now reached its final threshold,” Kurtulmuş said. “That is the drafting of a joint report, submitting this report to the General Assembly of parliament, and leading the process for turning the proposals into law and implementing other recommendations.”
SDF commander says wants to visit Öcalan to support Turkey's peace process
Kurtulmuş noted that political parties represented on the committee had already submitted their own reports during the drafting process. “I hope that we will soon be able to complete our final report and share with the public a text we jointly agree on. For this, it appears that some additional time will be needed,” he added.
The speaker described the peace process as a historic opportunity, saying, “I hope that we will bring these efforts to a beneficial conclusion.”
Kurtulmuş put to a vote the extension of the committee’s mandate, which was originally set to expire on Dec 31, until Mar 2026. The extension was approved unanimously.
PKK leader defies Turkey’s demand, urges Syrian Arabs to back Kurdish forces
Background
Turkey launched a new initiative in Oct 2024 to address the Kurdish issue. Devlet Bahçeli, leader of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), a government ally, said Abdullah Öcalan, the imprisoned leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), could benefit from the “right to hope” if he dissolved the organization.
In this context, Öcalan called on the group to lay down its arms in late February. The organization announced its dissolution after a congress held in May. The group’s disarmament process is ongoing.
However, there have been few concrete developments so far. This is thought to be linked to stalled integration talks between the Kurdish-led autonomous administration in Syria and Damascus. Ankara says Öcalan’s call also applies to the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and that the group should disarm and its members should join the Syrian army.
The SDF, which controls about 25 percent of Syria, says it has no organic ties to the PKK and that the call does not apply to them. The group envisages an integration where it can maintain administrative and military autonomy.
Turkey's FM doubts SDF's commitment to Syria integration
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