Designated members announced for the anti-terrorism commission by the political parties
The Grand National Assembly of Turkey has recently established a new parliamentary committee to oversee the "terror-free Türkiye" campaign. The committee, consisting of 51 members from various political parties, aims to oversee the initiative related to disarmament and dissolution of the PKK terrorist group.
The Justice and Development Party (AK Party) holds the majority with 21 members, followed by the Republican People's Party (CHP) with 10 members, the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) with 4 members, and the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM) with 4 members.
The CHP members include Deputy Parliamentary Group Chair Murat Emir, Deputy Chairs Gökçe Gökçen and Murat Bakan, and lawmakers from Istanbul, Diyarbakır, Ankara, and Muğla. Notable CHP members such as Türkan Elçi (widow of prominent lawyer Tahir Elçi) and Sezgin Tanrıkulu, known for his critical stance on counterterrorism policies, are also part of the committee.
The AKP representatives include Abdulhamit Gül, Mustafa Şen, Kürşad Zorlu, Hüseyin Yayman, Ayşe Böhürler, Cüneyt Yüksel, Sunay Karamık, Kemal Çelik, Şengül Karslı, Selami Altınok, Tahir Akyürek, Gökhan Diktaş, Abdurrahman Babacan, Mehmet Sait Yaz, Mahmut Atilla Kaya, Mehmet Şahin, Radiye Sezer Katırcıoğlu, Ali Kıratlı, Cevahir Asuman Yazmacı, Burhan Kayatürk, and Ersan Aksu.
The main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) had requested that the committee make its decisions by a qualified majority, a demand that was granted. The CHP's demand was confirmed by Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş.
The Democratic Left Party (DSP) will be represented by Önder Aksakal, and the Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) will have Gülistan Kılıç Koçyiğit, Meral Danış Beştaş, Saruhan Oluç, and Cengiz Çiçek. The Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) will be represented by Feti Yıldız, Muhammet Levent Bülbül, Halil Öztürk, and Yücel Bulut.
The Free Cause Party (HÜDA PAR) leader Zekeriya Yapıcıoğlu will join the committee, while the İYİ (Good) Party announced it would not participate. The New Path Party will be represented by Bülent Kaya, Mehmet Emin Ekmen, and Mustafa Bilici.
The committee's formation comes after the PKK announced its decision to disband and disarm in response to a call from its jailed leader Abdullah Öcalan. As part of the government's anti-terror campaign, PKK declared a ceasefire. The committee has authority to draft legislation related to the campaign and involve stakeholders such as NGOs and legal experts to ensure a broad-based approach.
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- The new parliamentary committee in charge of the "terror-free Türkiye" campaign, overseeing disarmament and dissolution of the PKK terrorist group, will now also focus on war-and-conflicts, politics, general-news, and crime-and-justice, given the broad-based approach that includes stakeholders such as NGOs and legal experts.
- The parliamentary committee, formed in response to the PKK's decision to disband and disarm, has the authority to draft legislation related to war-and-conflicts, politics, general-news, and crime-and-justice, as they aim to ensure a comprehensive approach to the "terror-free Türkiye" campaign.
