AKP was unaware of Bahçeli's 'commission' call! Here is what is being discussed in the corridors...

MHP Chairman Devlet Bahçeli's proposal to establish a commission in Parliament during the process of the terrorist organization PKK's dissolution has caused a wide stir in political circles. AKP officials argue that for such a commission to be established, the disarmament phase must first be completed.

Bahçeli's proposal, coupled with the view that it could not have been made independently of AKP Chairman and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has brought with it the expectation that the commission could be established in a short time. Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş drew attention to the role of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM) in this process by saying, "Parliament will step in after the weapons are laid down."

AKP Deputy Chairman Zafer Sarıkaya, in a statement to NTV, emphasized that his party's priority is the surrender of weapons, stating, "It is not possible to discuss the process in the TBMM in an environment where weapons are on the agenda."

The MHP, however, is insistent that the commission should be established as soon as possible. MHP officials state that Parliament must take an active role for the process to proceed healthily.

"WE WERE NOT INFORMED"

According to a report by T24, some AKP executives stated that they were not informed in advance of Bahçeli's commission proposal. One AKP executive said, "We were discussing from time to time a commission in Parliament where the process would be negotiated, but we had not carried out a study with this level of clarity."

Another AKP official, stating that a certain amount of progress must be made on disarmament for the commission to be established, said, "Something must happen for something to be done. We will proceed by observing."

STRUCTURE AND DUTIES OF THE COMMISSION

In the corridors, assessments are also being made regarding what kind of structure the commission will have and in which areas it will work. AKP sources stated that a structure different from the existing research and specialized committees in Parliament would be created. It is stated that the commission could work in areas such as political and legal reforms and the strengthening of democracy.

While Bahçeli's proposal for one representative from each political party and representation in proportion to the parties' numerical strength is considered reasonable, it is stated that the number of members of the commission should be around 30-35, and this number could rise to 100 with sub-commissions and experts.

News Source: 12punto