A parliamentary committee formed to support the ongoing Kurdish peace process saw tensions rising during its 11th session today, after remarks of an invitee prompted members of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party and main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) to walk out.
The “National Unity, Solidarity, Brotherhood and Democracy Committee,” established in August as part of the peace initiative, saw a brief but heated dispute after a speech by Mehmet Bekir Şimşek, head of İTTİHAD, a religious association invited to the meeting by the Kurdish Islamist Free Cause Party (Hüda Par).
In his speech, Şimşek remarked, "The PKK waged war against the faith of the Kurdish people. Why has not a single non-Muslim been killed? The PKK has declared war on the beliefs of the Kurdish people. Dozens of imams have been killed in the region. Each time they were killed, they were accused of being spies, traitors, or even soldiers.
"And yet, somehow, not a single non-Muslim has been killed by the PKK in the region. I’m not saying they should be killed. But why are mosques specifically being targeted? How does tearing the Kurdish people away from their faith through a Marxist-Leninist mindset serve the interests of the Kurds? The traditions of the Kurdish people have changed."
Members of the DEM Party responded strongly to Şahin's remarks before walking out of the room. Saruhan Oluç said, “Can peace be made with this kind of language? We’ve tolerated it until now, but you feed off blood—shame on you, bloodshedders. May God damn you.”
Cengiz Çiçek added, “You killed people by hogtying them. You are the ones who’ve been a curse upon the Kurds.”
These remarkes referenced the Hizbullah, a Kurdish Islamist group distinct from the Lebanese organization, which clashed with the PKK in the 1990s and killed hundreds of people, including journalists and politicians whom it considered affiliated with the PKK. Victims were often tortured by being "hogtied" and buried in what were called “grave houses.”
Head of the İTTİHAD association, Enver Kılıçarslan, was convicted of being a member of Hizbullah in a case concernin the 1999 killing of Muslim feminist writer Konca Kuriş.
Parliament committee discusses redefinition of Turkish citizenship, ‘right to hope’ for Öcalan
'This is not a place to reignite past traumas'
As tensions rose, Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş intervened, saying, “Everyone is free to defend their own views, but not by dredging up the past. Significant progress has been made; it is essential that everyone pays attention to their language.”
He added that speaking over past grievances would not contribute to finding a solution.
DEM and CHP deputies left the room after the exchange. After the dispute, the session moved on to the speech by Tayyip Elçi, President of the Foundation of Madrasa Scholars (MEDAV) and DEM deputies returned to the room.
DEM deputy Meral Danış-Beştaş also criticized Şimsek's remarks. “This is a peace table, not a place for reigniting past traumas or indulging in a kind of murder pornography,” she told bianet.
Turkey launched its latest peace initiative last October following a call by MHP leader Devlet Bahçeli, an ally of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP). Bahçeli had suggested that jailed PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan could benefit from the “right to hope” if he announced the group’s dissolution.
Öcalan issued a call to lay down arms in February. The PKK formally declared its dissolution in May and held a symbolic disarmament ceremony in July. The parliamentary comittee has since been meeting to outline further steps in the process, hearing from political groups, civil society representatives, academics, and individuals. (NÖ/VK)
