Which 'man' won again? What kind of 'victory' is this?..

Shall we go back 26-27 years?

The terrorist leader in İmralı was sentenced to death on June 29, 1999. The Court of Cassation upheld this sentence.

The nation was waiting for the file to be sent to the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM) for the execution order to be issued.

But the imperialists had already stepped in.

The terrorist leader took the decision to the ECHR. On November 30, 1999, the ECHR immediately issued an interim measure decision to delay the death penalty.

The DSP-MHP-ANAP coalition government, established under the Prime Ministry of the late Bülent Ecevit, was in power.

Two months after that ECHR decision, the three leaders—Ecevit, Bahçeli, and Mesut Yılmaz—held a meeting at the Prime Ministry with their staff and the then-Undersecretary of the MİT, Şenkal Atasagun.

While MHP Leader Devlet Bahçeli and his aide, the then-Minister of Industry and Trade Kenan Tanrıkulu, demanded that the file be immediately referred to Parliament, they emphasized that “a concession given at this point would open a breach in Turkey's sovereign rights and that this concession would be followed by others.” Ecevit, Mesut Yılmaz, and other ministers, acting on the report presented by the MİT, argued that “the terrorist leader would be more dangerous dead than alive,” and furthermore, that “it would be more appropriate to use Apo, who is in Turkey's hands, as a bargaining chip.”

Following this 7.5-hour meeting, the three leaders decided that the terrorist leader's file should not be sent to Parliament but should be kept at the Prime Ministry until the ECHR's final decision was issued.

This decision was announced to the nation with the following statements:

“It is by no means a matter of the ECHR, whose jurisdiction Turkey has also accepted, changing the decisions made by the Turkish judiciary. When the process stemming from our Constitution and our international commitments is completed, the file will be sent to the TBMM immediately for the necessary action. The party leaders have reached a consensus that if it is assessed that this decision, which they have taken out of respect for the law, is being used by the terrorist organization and its supporting circles against the high interests of Turkey, along with its nation and state, the postponement process will be terminated and the execution process will be initiated immediately.”

However, as the then-Secretary General of the ECHR, Wolfgang Peukert, himself stated; the ECHR's interim measure was not binding...

Likewise, the decision taken by the three leaders was contrary to Article 38 of the Constitution, which states that “final judicial decisions cannot be delayed”...

But for the first time, an “institution of three party leaders” had been created for the terrorist leader, and such a decision had been taken.

It was clear from the first day that the statement made was intended to reduce public reaction and to stall.

Indeed, after that decision by the three leaders, the terrorist leader gave his first statement and said the following:

“With this decision, Turkey needs reforms from now on, especially within the framework of EU harmonization. This summit decision will also be a beginning for these. Everyone should contribute to this plan on a positive basis. For this, internal peace and stability are necessary. If there are developments in this direction, positive behaviors will be developed by the PKK.”

Angered by this, Ecevit made the following statement:

“It is not possible to look with tolerance at the use of İmralı as a political podium. There are tendencies to politicize the separatist movement as the price for ending terrorism. This is what is truly dangerous; we will never allow this.”

It was not just Ecevit who was angry; the families of the martyrs also rose up. They met with the leaders and received a promise that the terrorist leader's file would come to Parliament within 6 months at the latest.

The meeting the families of the martyrs had with the then-President, the late Süleyman Demirel, was also important.

The spokesperson for the families, a martyr's father, predicted, “You say patience, but at the end of this patience, the death penalty will be abolished from the laws and Apo will not be hanged,” and demanded that the file be brought to Parliament. Demirel asked for “patience” and stated that the file would come to Parliament.

The martyr's father replied, “But it will come in 2 years.” Demirel said, “How do you know it will come in 2 years?”

When the martyr's father asked, “If in 2 years, using your famous saying, you say ‘Yesterday is yesterday, today is today,’ what will we do?” Demirel said the following:

“Then, whatever you are going to do today, you do it on that day. If you do what you will do on that day today, it is wrong. Do what you will do on that day, on that day, okay? Your pain is my pain. I will definitely not be a party to anything that will hurt you. My advice to you is a little patience.”

This martyr's father was Mehmet Gençer, the father of martyr non-commissioned officer Serhat Gençer, whose last letter was read by then-Prime Minister Erdoğan in the AKP group during the first 'opening' in 2012 to criticize the CHP and MHP, who opposed the opening, making everyone cry.

But because he opposed both the keeping of the terrorist leader's file at the Prime Ministry and the AKP's 'openings,' he suffered greatly in both periods and struggled with many lawsuits filed with trumped-up charges!..

After being told “patience” over and over, the aftermath is known; the death penalty was abolished... The state sat at the table with the terrorist leader many times... The terrorist leader, who turned İmralı into a “headquarters,” founded and managed the Syrian PKK...

And we have reached these days... Now, the baby killer is being given “status”... He is being made the “chief negotiator and leader” of our citizens of Kurdish origin... In short; as Ecevit said, “as the price for ending terrorism,” the demands of the separatist movement are being accepted by the Turkish Nation step by step and by getting them used to it.

Didn't the “Man” Win?

Even though it is crystal clear where we have come from and where they want to go with the “root law” accepted with a record number of votes in the TBMM on Monday; Özgür Özel, who on one hand says, “We have not been involved in any work unworthy of Atatürk, and we will not be from now on,” but on the other hand created great disappointment in the nation by supporting that law, defended himself as follows:

“My conscience is clear. It is not right for us to do the opposite of a view we have defended for years just because of opposition to Erdoğan. I think we made the right decision. I don't look at it as ‘The man won again.’ If something is to be won in the end, at least he didn't win it alone. If there is a winner, it is the country that is winning.”

No, no, there is actually another “man who won again”; the terrorist leader in İmralı!..

At this rate, let us not be surprised if, when the time comes for the civilian constitution, which the architect of the 'opening' in Parliament, TBMM Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş, heralded (!) after 467 votes by saying, “The political climate has now matured,” Özgür Özel supports it again with the excuse of not wanting to be in the position of “standing in the way of peace.”

Let us finish with the voice of the government, the staunch defender of the “opening,” Abdülkadir Selvi.

“This is neither a victory for one side nor a defeat for the other,” he decreed yesterday.

Leaving aside his equating the Republic of Turkey with the terrorist leader and the terrorist organization as “sides”; if there is no “victory” at hand, what was that sign the DEM members made in the middle of the Gazi Parliament after the law was accepted?

And didn't it touch anyone's blood?!

Müyesser YILDIZ

August 14, 2026