DEM Party Co-Chair Says ‘Peace Cannot Be Kept in a Waiting Room’
DEM Party co-chair Tuncer Bakırhan urges Türkiye to end trustee appointments, free prisoners and form a peace body, saying no PKK fighters remain in Türkiye.
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) - The co-chair of Türkiye’s Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) called on Tuesday for the removal of government-appointed trustees and the release of prisoners, criticizing Ankara’s approach to the peace process.
“Peace cannot be kept in a waiting room, and this historic opportunity must not be lost on weekly and monthly conditions and pretexts,” Tuncer Bakırhan said in a speech at his party’s parliamentary group meeting in the Turkish parliament on Tuesday.
He said that, according to information from his party and Kurdistan Region officials, no PKK fighters remain on Turkish territory.
Turning to the wider region, Bakırhan said wars and political and social crises continue in the Middle East. “No developments will remain within the borders of that country anymore. Nobody wants a big war, but the necessary steps for a real peace are not being taken,” he said.
He described the past two years as an important stage in which major steps had been taken, the latest being the decision on Oct. 8, 2026 for a full withdrawal from Türkiye.
“The party leadership [the PKK] announced that not a single member of theirs remains and that they have vacated their bases and camps. Weapons were burned and the withdrawal decision was implemented,” Bakırhan said.
“Now society rightly asks: What is left for you to do? What are you waiting for? The government must move beyond expressing intent and enter the stage of decision-making.”
Bakırhan also listed questions he said people ask his party: “When will Abdullah Ocalan be given conditions for communication and a free life? When can he send messages directly to the public? When will the prisons be emptied and those dismissed return? When will the trustees be removed, and Ahmet Turk, the co-mayors of Sirt municipality, and the elected heads return to their posts?”
He said parliament’s doors must be opened and the necessary legislation passed. He urged the government to abandon the policy of imposing trustees and not to make the law “a stick in the hands of the government.”
Bakırhan also called for a special body to be set up without delay. “A ‘Peace and Politicization Commission’ must be established in coordination with Ocalan,” he said.
“Laying down arms does not end with a statement of intent. A mechanism is needed. Those working on this body must be in contact with Ocalan 24 hours a day, because the process will not move forward through talks held once every several weeks.”
After the group meeting, Bakırhan answered journalists’ questions about the disarmament process and the National Security Council (MGK) meeting expected at the end of November.
He said no PKK fighters remain in Türkiye. He added that in Erbil, Kurdistan Region officials stressed that no point on Türkiye’s borders remains a threat and that forces have withdrawn from the camps and vacated them.