The background to Bahçeli's Demirtaş and Öcalan remarks... Even the party leadership was stunned
MHP Chairman Devlet Bahçeli's striking remarks at the parliamentary group meeting have found wide resonance within the party as well. It has emerged that only a very limited group of individuals knew the details of Bahçeli's statements in advance.
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MHP leader Devlet Bahçeli shook the agenda with his speech at his party's parliamentary group meeting, and it has been learned that the expressions he used were kept secret from many, including the party leadership.
In his speech, Bahçeli's words, "Our decision is clear until Anatolia returns to peace, Öcalan to hope, the Ahmets to their positions, and Demirtaş to his home," drew attention.
According to talk in party corridors, Bahçeli made an important move without announcing it to the public, just as he did in his call to PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan in October 2024.
The fact that the statement in question was not even added to the speech text surprised even his own team. Party officials only became aware of the content of the sentence when Bahçeli took the podium.
Bahçeli's emphasis on a "Terror-free Turkey" came to the fore in his speech, and he reiterated his determination regarding the steps to be taken in this process.
The question on everyone's mind in the corridors after the speech was whether there was a specific reason for the timing. When asked, "Why did you bring these demands to the agenda together now?" Bahçeli replied, "No. It has nothing to do with Syria. We have been saying this for a long time. We want peace in Anatolia. We see it as beneficial for these steps to be taken."
When asked how the AK Party government would react to his demands, Bahçeli also stated, "We have expressed our own opinion. We think these will be beneficial. What happens next is the government's business."
Following this move by Devlet Bahçeli, all eyes turned to the AKP, while Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş also made a statement drawing attention to the importance of developments in Syria for Turkey.
Numan Kurtulmuş stated that every step taken to ensure the integrity of Syria would contribute to the goal of a "Terror-free Turkey." Additionally, the report writing committee of the National Solidarity, Brotherhood and Democracy Commission in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey was called to meet on February 4.
Just before these developments, DEM Party executive Gülistan Kılıç Koçyiğit had expressed her complaints regarding the committee meeting not taking place on the previously expected date, stating that the commission's work needed to be accelerated.