Turkish Parliament to Form Committee Overseeing Peace Process
Türkiye’s Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmus announced a special parliamentary committee to oversee the peace process, vowing it will proceed without delay, on Nov. 6.
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) - Türkiye’s Parliament will establish a special committee to oversee the country’s peace process, Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmus announced on Friday, insisting that the process will move forward without delay.
Kurtulmus spoke at the opening ceremony of the 2026-2027 academic year at Inonu University, held at the Turgut Ozal Congress Center in the city of Malatya. There, he described the peace process as the most important project of the Republic of Türkiye’s second century.
Kurtulmus framed the effort in the language of national history. “A Türkiye free of terror was the most serious issue in our republic’s history, and it will be the most important project of its second century. We will succeed,” he said.
He then turned to the cost of the conflict. Kurtulmus said: “I believe you also agree that combating terror has been one of the hardest tasks of the Republic of Türkiye in its first century. The people of Türkiye paid a heavy price in sacrifices because of it, and thousands of people were killed. Türkiye also faced a scourge that inflicted great economic damage, exceeding $2.3 trillion.”
On the peace process itself, the speaker said a special oversight committee will be formed in Parliament and will begin its work. He stressed that the process will proceed without any delay.
Kurtulmus noted that major progress has been made over the past two years toward resolving what he called Türkiye’s most important problem, and that most political parties support the process.
He said it is being carried out transparently, with Parliament following the steps and measures as an observer.
He added that the Presidential Council is closely monitoring developments and, when necessary, will prepare new legislation and submit it to Parliament.
The process traces back to Nov. 26, 2024, when Devlet Bahceli’s peace initiative was officially announced. On Dec. 28, 2024, Pervin Buldan and Sirri Surreya Onder, members of the DEM Party delegation, met Abdullah Ocalan at Imrali prison.
In early 2025, Ocalan released a video message from prison calling on the PKK to lay down arms and end the armed struggle.
On March 1, 2025, a ceasefire was officially declared, opening the way for talks. The PKK held its 12th congress from May 5 to 7, 2025, and decided to dissolve the organization and end the armed struggle.
On July 11, 2025, as a symbolic step to accept Ocalan’s message, a group of 30 fighters led by Bese Hozat, co-chair of the KCK, burned their weapons at a ceremony in front of the Jasana cave, in the Sharbazher area on the border of Dukan, Sulaimani.They declared an end to the fighting.
Asked when the parliamentary committee would be set up, Kurtulmus assured reporters that no delay is in store. Parliament, he said, will take the steps with the broad participation of the parties.