ANKARA – Felicity Party (Saadet Partisi) MP Bülent Kaya criticized the government for linking legal steps in the peace process to the “complete disarmament” of all parties, stating: “We argued that legal regulations should come into play at a crucial stage in order to establish the legal framework for disarmament.”
The process, which began with a call by Kurdish People’s Leader Abdullah Öcalan on February 27, 2025, and has made some progress through steps taken by the Kurdish movement, is not advancing due to the lack of action by the government and state authorities.
Highlighting the current stage of the process and the legal steps expected to be taken, Bülent Kaya said that certain administrative measures should have already been implemented by the government following the publication of the parliamentary commission report.
Kaya stated that parliament has not taken any administrative steps and that no concrete legislative work has been carried out. He noted that pro-government media claim legal reforms have not been introduced because the disarmament process has not been completed.
Kaya said: “However, this was one of the key issues we emphasized during the negotiations on the report. We discussed when legal steps should be taken. The government and the Turkish Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), in the report they submitted to parliament, argue that legal steps should be taken after weapons are handed over. We, on the other hand, said that legal regulations should be introduced at an important stage to establish the legal basis for disarmament.”
Kaya stressed that steps in line with rulings by the Constitutional Court of Turkey and the European Court of Human Rights do not require new legislation, criticizing the government for failing to act accordingly. He also criticized the continuation of trustee appointments to municipalities, noting that municipal councils could be allowed to function within the framework of the law.
Kaya said that confidence-building measures must be prioritized for the process to move forward. He called for a reassessment of interventions targeting politicians, particularly under so-called “dawn operations,” and urged a review of operations against journalists.
Emphasizing the importance of steps toward Turkey’s democratization, Kaya referred to the ECHR ruling regarding former HDP co-chair Selahattin Demirtaş and underlined the importance of releasing political prisoners.
“I believe that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan must now reach a decision point and accelerate this process. Developments in the Middle East show that instead of suspending the process, it is time to focus on resolving this issue at its root,” he said.
Kaya noted that silence currently dominates the process and stressed that positive steps addressing public expectations on democracy and the rule of law must be taken. He added that such steps are necessary to maintain public hope in the process.
Stating that they had presented proposals to Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş and political parties in parliament regarding administrative and legal measures, Kaya said they had called for the creation of an action plan but received no response from the government. He added that if the government has its own plan, it should share it with other political parties and seek their input, noting that meeting opposition parties without preparation is insufficient.
Kaya also said they plan to request a meeting with the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in the coming days regarding the process.
Kaya stated that President Erdoğan has electoral concerns and that these concerns are contributing to delays in the process. He said Erdoğan is taking steps by calculating the timing and potential political outcomes of the process. Kaya said: “Therefore, I think these fluctuations and delays stem not only from state considerations but also from political calculations.”
MA / Omer Gungor
