Bahçeli calls Öcalan 'founding leader' once again: It wasn't just his own media outlet that censored Bahçeli

The term "founding leader" used by MHP leader Devlet Bahçeli for PKK ringleader Abdullah Öcalan did not find a place in media outlets close to the MHP. Anadolu Agency also did not report these words.

Pro-government media outlets such as NTV and Hürriyet, like the MHP's own media organs Bengü Türk and Türkgün Newspaper, ignored these expressions.

MHP Chairman Devlet Bahçeli ignited the fuse of a new era on October 22, 2024, which began to be referred to in the public eye as the "Imralı Process."

Bahçeli stated that if the PKK were to be dissolved, Abdullah Öcalan could give a speech in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM).

Following this statement, which shook the political agenda, the DEM Party began making visits to Imralı Prison, and on February 27, the PKK announced that the organization had been dissolved.

As the process continued, while the PKK was expected to lay down its arms and a commission was expected to be established in the TBMM, new Constitution debates also gained momentum in the political arena.

Journalist Alican Uludağ, who shared the front page of Türkgün on social media, wrote the following:

"The MHP's media organ, Türkgün newspaper, did not include the term 'founding leader' that Devlet Bahçeli used for Abdullah Öcalan yesterday. On their website, the phrase 'Separatist terrorist activities' was added to the beginning of the sentence in Bahçeli's statement instead of 'founding leader'."