DEM Party and Öcalan meet: Mixed reactions from the opposition to the new resolution process

MHP Chairman Devlet Bahçeli's handshake with DEM Party deputies at the opening of the Turkish Grand National Assembly and his request during his party's group meeting on October 22 for the leader of the terrorist organization PKK, Abdullah Öcalan, to speak in Parliament have sparked debates in politics and public opinion regarding a new resolution process.

Standing by his call for Öcalan, Bahçeli increased the tempo during his group meeting on November 26, stating, "We expect face-to-face contact between İmralı and the DEM group to take place without delay" he said.

Following Bahçeli's call, DEM Party members Sırrı Süreyya Önder and Pervin Buldan traveled to İmralı on December 28 and met with terrorist leader Öcalan.

The taking of the first concrete step in the new resolution process has brought with it various interpretations and reactions in the political arena.

According to a report by Cumhuriyet, CHP Group Deputy Chairman Gökhan Günaydın, pointing to the opening of the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM) on October 1, stated, “We have been discussing this process since October 1, 2024. Bahçeli had said that a line should be drawn from Imralı to the DEM Party. It seems the issues of ‘let him come and speak in Parliament’ and the ‘right to hope’ have either been canceled or postponed for now. For the time being, a two-person delegation from the DEM Party went to Imralı. Then, today, they released a one-page statement regarding the meeting they held yesterday. We do not know what was being waited for during those 24 hours to issue this statement?” he asked.

"PARLIAMENT HAS NO KNOWLEDGE"

Stating that they see nothing concrete in the statement made by the DEM Party, Günaydın said, "This is not just a study conducted by Buldan and Önder. It is clear that 'state officials' met with Öcalan beforehand. There is something being cooked up behind the scenes. We have no idea what this is. What are we supposed to understand from this statement? There is nothing we can comment on. Behind closed doors, the AKP bureaucracy and the accompanying MHP politics are conducting a process together with Öcalan. Let us underline that the Parliament has no information on this matter. As the main opposition, we have no information." he stated.

İYİ Party Head of National Security and Migration Policies Cenk Özatıcı also "There is a so-called new resolution process. Because the process began on October 12 when Mr. Bahçeli extended his hand to the DEM Party. On October 13, Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş targeted the first three articles of the constitution. Later, on October 22, Mr. Bahçeli invited the baby killer to the Parliament.

He promised a 'right to hope' based on him giving a speech in Parliament. Afterward, Mr. Erdoğan evaluated the terrorist leader speaking in Parliament as a historic process. Now there is a new process. Upon Mr. Bahçeli's insistence, the terrorist leader and the DEM Party have come together.

The İYİ Party is the only political party among those with a group in Parliament that, upon the invitation of the terrorist leader to the Parliament, stated that this would never be possible based on the will of the Turkish nation, and that Öcalan could never enter the Parliament without stepping over the dead bodies of İYİ Party members." he said.

'WILL TURKEY BE DISMEMBERED?'

Pointing to the statement in the DEM Party's announcement, "The events in Gaza and Syria have shown that the resolution of this problem, which has been attempted to be turned into a gangrene through external interventions, can no longer be postponed," Özatıcı remarked, "This is being said by the leader of a terrorist organization that has survived for years with the support of imperialist foreign powers, and has been trained, equipped, fed, and nurtured by them. The PKK terrorist organization and Öcalan are the extensions of foreign powers in Turkey. By citing the events in Gaza and Syria as examples, there is actually a great deal of insolence here.

In other words, what will happen if the terrorist leader, the murderer of 50,000 people, is not released, does not benefit from the right to hope, or is not allowed to speak in Parliament? Will Turkey be dismembered like Syria? Will it be devastated like Gaza? In our opinion, seeking a solution by pinning hopes on the murderer of 50,000 Turkish citizens to prevent Turkey from becoming like Syria or Gaza has left them with no credibility in the eyes of the nation. We believe that the Turkish nation is overwhelmingly against this process." he reacted.

Özatıcı also stated that, as someone on the ground, he has observed a great deal of anger among the base.

ATA Party Chairman Namık Kemal Zeybek also noted the following:

“A complex and dark process is beginning. What is behind this? Devlet Bahçeli, who brought the issue to this point, the government, which is approaching this matter warmly, and even the terrorist leader, who has become the subject of the issue, may not themselves know what the architects of this game are aiming for. Each of them is carrying out the task assigned to them, and we know that each of them is a player for the international architects of this game. The AKP was founded by the US. I am one of those who know this most closely. The PKK is a terrorist organization fed, raised, and equipped by the US. The YPG-PYD state established in northern Syria, the transformation in Syria—when all these are put together, it becomes clear that an international architect is setting up a game in our country. No one could have imagined that the MHP would initiate such a thing. There are those whispering this task to the MHP chairman. An international plot is being set up and a game is being played.”

‘CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT!’

Zafer Party Spokesperson Azmi Karamahmutoğlu said: “We must evaluate the PKK leader’s emphasis on ‘transformation’ in the text together with the AKP and MHP’s insistence on a ‘new constitution.’ Clearly, because they are afraid of going to a public vote or referendum, they want to force through what they define as a new constitution—not just a constitutional amendment—within this Parliament. To do this, they want to secure the number of DEM Party deputies they need through Öcalan.” he said.

News Source: 12punto