The Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM) has formally notified political parties of the formation of a parliamentary committee dedicated to a new Kurdish peace process.
The announcement came via a letter from Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş, who requested each party to submit its committee representatives by the August 31 deadline.
The committee will include 51 members. The allocation by party is as follows: ruling AKP 21 members, coalition partner MHP 4, main opposition CHP 10, pro‑Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party 4, nationalist-secular Good (İYİ) Party 3, Yeni Yol Party 3, Kurdish-Islamist Free Cause Party (Hüda Par) 1, Workers’ Party of Turkey (TİP) 1, Labour Party (EMEP) 1, Democratic Left Party 1, and Democratic Party 1.
The committee is expected to play a pivotal role in Turkey's new Kurdish peace process, which began after MHP leader Devlet Bahçeli urged imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan to dissolve the organization in exchange for a possible release.
Following meetings between a DEM Party delegation and Öcalan, he issued his call to disarm and disband the PKK in February. The group formally announced its dissolution in May and began a symbolic weapon destruction ceremony on July 11 in northern Iraq.
Critics had previously faulted the 2013–15 peace process for excluding the parliament. In contrast, the new committee is intended to provide legislative oversight and legitimacy to the reconciliation effort. (TY/VK)
