Erdoğan’s Letter... Amnesty for the PKK!..

Three days ago, Erdoğan penned a letter to be delivered to the families of martyrs and veterans by "AKP organizations."

In his letter, Erdoğan explained the opening initiated for a "terror-free Turkey" and sent the message that "there is no bargaining, negotiation, concessions, or secret and base initiatives." The first reaction to Erdoğan came from İYİ Party Chairman Müsavat Dervişoğlu.

Dervişoğlu, who published an open letter addressed to Erdoğan, stated that he found it positive that the families of martyrs and our veterans were remembered, albeit belatedly, after meetings had been held with a wide range of people—from the terrorist leader to Qandil, from the Barzani lords to the political spokespeople of terror. However, he criticized the fact that the initial draft of Erdoğan's letter, even if corrected later, mentioned the economic losses caused by terror and stated, "We have foregone trillions of dollars in resources."

There are other things in the letter that draw attention. For example, Erdoğan signing the letter with the titles "AK Party Chairman-President of the Republic of Turkey"... The presence of the AKP logo in the letter...

Look at Erdoğan's social media account, what does it say; "President of the Republic of Turkey and AK Party Chairman"...

Haven't we been told for months that this process is a "state policy"?.. Didn't AKP Deputy Chairman Hüseyin Yayman, who evaluated this letter of Erdoğan just yesterday, emphasize that the "terror-free Turkey" issue is a "state policy" and say, "This issue, which is above parties, should not be used as a tool for daily politics."?

THE MISSION OF THE COMMISSION

As is known; the order to "establish a commission in Parliament," which the terrorist leader in İmralı has been voicing for years, has finally been fulfilled—and without even needing to pass a law regarding this commission!..

Apart from the İYİ Party and the BBP in Parliament, no one else expressed discomfort; everyone rushed to get into the commission.

On the other hand, the claim by imprisoned journalist Fatih Altaylı that, "Devlet Bahçeli sent a poem by Cahit Sıtkı Tarancı to Abdullah Öcalan... If he isn't making it up, he said, 'I salute the architect of the process with respect,'" was considered a "national security issue," and access to Altaylı's YouTube channel was blocked. Has this claim by Altaylı been denied so far? Nope.

Which one has the greater potential to be considered a "national security issue"; establishing a commission without legal basis and with an unclear mission upon the desire of the terrorist leader and the PKK, or Bahçeli sending a poem to the terrorist leader?!

The ruling wing has been saying until today that the commission will only discuss the fate of the terrorist leader and the PKK members who are claimed to have laid down their arms... At the beginning of the first meeting the day before yesterday, Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş also emphasized that "the commission has historical duties" and that "they are facing a historic opportunity," and spoke as follows:

"The main reason for the formation of this commission is that, following the statement made from İmralı, the organization has revealed that it accepts laying down arms and dissolving itself, declaring this, and for the Parliament to take charge of the process regarding how certain legal regulations that will emerge with this process will be made, to make preparations, and of course, to send these to the General Assembly to take decisions."

But as is known, their interlocutors and the spokesperson for İmralı, the DEM Party, are not saying that at all. Following the Central Executive Board meeting held one day before the commission meeting, DEM spokesperson Ayşegül Doğan stated that they are at a "rarely encountered crossroads," and again spoke of "creating a Turkey based on equal citizenship," saying the following:

"Even just ending the conflict process is of historical importance. However, eliminating the problems that cause this conflict and finding solutions to these problems is equally important. Therefore, our expectation from the commission is that they carry out certain studies so that the legal regulations required by this step can be realized, that social solidarity can be properly brought to life, and of course, that democratization can be ensured and justice can be established... We need to handle this process as a process of mutual change and transformation."

It seems that the commission's work will not be limited to just the amnesty of PKK members and finding jobs and homes for those who return; it will also carry out the "necessary legal regulations" to eliminate the so-called "Kurdish issue" shown as the cause of PKK terror!..

IS THERE ANOTHER "PHASE" BEYOND THE COMMISSION?

Already, Erdoğan, speaking at the DEİK General Assembly on the day the commission met, referring to the commission, said, "A new phase has been entered... Turkish politics has successfully crossed another psychological threshold... It has broken another prejudice. It has taken another valuable step on the path to solving its problems on a democratic ground."

This means there are other "phases," "psychological thresholds" to be crossed, and "prejudices" to be broken!.. I wonder what they are?..

Let's try to deduce this from Erdoğan's own words again.

He explained the economic, political, and social bill of Turkey's half-century struggle against terror and continued as follows:

"While we as a nation were losing, those who are the sworn enemies of the Turk, the Kurd, and the Arab were winning... We say, 'Let this country, this nation not lose anymore.' We are in the midst of a historic process that will replace the winners with the losers... We want to open the doors to a new era in our country and our region. Our envelope is unity, our content is brotherhood... At the end of the process, hopefully, we will be honored with a Turkey that is strong not only with its economy but also with its democracy and its brotherhood."

When separatist terror has harmed the entire Turkish Nation; why the emphasis on "Turk, Kurd, Arab"?!

Let us underline once again; no matter what they have done for half a century, they could not damage our "unity and brotherhood." With this being the case, what is the meaning of tying the expectation of "unity and brotherhood," and especially the solution to our economic and democratic problems whose cause and source are known, to the PKK opening?!

AMNESTY IN PACKAGES

Let's assume that the commission in the TBMM will really only handle the amnesty of PKK members.

Fine, the majority of the commission members consist of lawyers; but what is the need for so much pomp and circumstance? Expert lawyers would work, prepare a package. Then it would be worked on and brought to Parliament.

Besides; don't they have "return home and repentance laws" in packages from previous openings?

If that's not enough; aren't the proposals prepared by a bunch of foreigners, from David L. Phillip of the Atlantic Council to Henry Barkey, sitting on their shelves?

WHAT ABOUT WHAT ERDOĞAN SAID?

Since the amnesty and integration into society and politics of the murderers of 40 thousand of our people have been normalized as if pulling a hair from butter, and even support has been requested for this by writing letters to the families of martyrs and veterans, meaning a major "psychological threshold" has been crossed, let us recall the following:

In the 2006 opening; when the demand for a general amnesty, which meant the release of the terrorist leader, was voiced, he reacted by saying, "This is the demand of the terrorist organization. We know them well. Do not talk like this";

In the 2013 opening; he underlined that there would be no general amnesty and stated, "We have repeatedly stated that there will be no general amnesty. I personally stated it and took it much further, saying, 'I cannot find the authority in myself to pardon someone who kills a person.' Because I used this expression, members of the main opposition stood up and said, 'He wants to bring Sharia.' I am saying this again? The state can use such pardon authority in crimes committed against itself. However, the victim is someone else, the one who pardons is someone else. That pardon authority belongs to the relatives of the victim."

In 2018, when MHP Leader Bahçeli made an amnesty proposal for prisoners of fate, who was it that said, "The principle is this; the state can use this authority in crimes committed against the state, but when it is committed against individuals, the state absolutely does not have such pardon authority there."?

Erdoğan himself!..

In that case, shouldn't we say this now?

Go ahead, as the state, pardon the PKK members who are trying to divide the state and the country...

But please, do ask the relatives of martyrs and veterans about the amnesty of the murderers. Let's see if they will accept this right and authority being used by you?!

Müyesser YILDIZ

August 10, 2025