Critical meeting in the Imralı process postponed: All eyes on the NSC
The critical meeting of the commission established in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM) for the Imralı Process, which was expected to take place today, has been postponed. The reasons cited for the postponement were the busy schedules of the commission members and the National Security Council (MGK) meeting held on the same day. Statements suggesting that legal regulations in the process would be shaped by MGK decisions have drawn attention to the council meeting.
12punto
It was stated that the commission formed by the TBMM on November 24, through which the Imralı Process is being conducted, had traveled to Imralı Island to meet with Abdullah Öcalan, the leader of the terrorist organization PKK.
The commission included Hüseyin Yayman from the AKP, Feti Yıldız from the MHP, and Gülistan Kılıç Koçyiğit from the DEM Party. It was stated that the dialogues held with Öcalan would be conveyed to the commission following the meeting.
DEM Party officials had announced that they would vote in favor of making the minutes containing Öcalan's statements from the meeting available to the public.
MEETING ANNOUNCED, THEN POSTPONED
It was announced that the commission would meet today, but it was declared yesterday that the meeting had been postponed. The busy schedule of the commission members was cited as the reason for the postponement.
Furthermore, it was stated that the National Security Council meeting, which fell on the same day, also contributed to the postponement of the meeting.
NSC MEETING HELD
The National Security Council met today under the chairmanship of President and AKP Chairman Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. It was noted that Minister of National Defense Yaşar Güler could not attend the meeting due to his budget presentation.
It was reported that the Imralı Process would also be evaluated at the final NSC meeting of the year.
The fact that the NSC was cited as a reason for the postponement brought the statements of TBMM Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş regarding the process back to the agenda.
"LEGAL REGULATION BEGINS WITH NSC DETERMINATION"
TBMM Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş, who chairs the National Unity, Solidarity and Democracy Commission, stated in his remarks on November 7 that the legal process would be based on an NSC decision. In his assessment, Kurtulmuş expressed the following views:
"If, as a result of reports prepared by security units, it is concluded that the organization has dissolved itself, this must be determined by the National Security Council, which is the state's highest security authority. A decision by the NSC that the PKK is no longer an armed organization would solidify the legal ground."
REMARKABLE RESPONSE FROM THE AKP
Following Kurtulmuş's statements, AKP Spokesperson Ömer Çelik made a different assessment regarding the decision-making mechanism. In his statement on November 10, Çelik said:
"If dissolution and laying down arms are completed, the decision-making mechanism through which this will be announced is at the discretion of our President. This could be through a government decree, a Presidential decree, or an NSC decision. The method to be used will be determined by our President."
ÇELİK POINTED TO THE NSC
In his press conference yesterday, Ömer Çelik reminded that legal regulations are shaped by NSC determinations. Çelik stated that Turkey has made various legal arrangements in line with NSC decisions in the past for the liquidation of terrorist organizations.