DEM's Bakırhan: No PKK militants remain in Turkey, verification report awaited

DEM Party Co-Chair Tuncer Bakırhan announced that there are no longer PKK militants in Turkey. In a statement to journalists following the TBMM Group Meeting, Bakırhan referenced his contacts in Erbil and noted that officials from the Federal Kurdistan Region conveyed the same assessment: he said the organization no longer exists at any point along Turkey's border that could pose a threat, and that camps have been emptied. Bakırhan emphasized that an official report verifying the PKK's withdrawal from Turkey should be shared with the public as soon as possible.

The background of the process is as follows: Abdullah Öcalan issued a call to the PKK to lay down arms on February 27, 2024, through a text he titled "Peace and Democratic Society"; the organization announced on July 11, 2024, that it had laid down arms. In the Iraqi city of Sulaymaniyah, 30 organization members burned their weapons in a barrel. Parliament approved the 12-article National Solidarity Law on August 10. The first meeting of the Follow-up and Assessment Board took place on August 24, chaired by Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz; the meeting was attended by Justice Minister Akın Gürlek, Foreign Affairs Minister Hakan Fidan, Interior Minister Mustafa Çiftçi, Defense Minister Yaşar Güler, MIT Director İbrahim Kalın, Presidency Secretary-General Hakkı Susmaz, and NSC Secretary-General Okay Memiş. DEM Party Imrali delegation member Pervin Buldan had said before the meeting that sub-committees would be established and that Öcalan would serve on the "disarmament and politicization committee."

Bakırhan called for the verification and assessment report to be released before the National Security Council meeting expected to convene in late November. On the Iran issue, he conveyed that based on information relayed by Bafil Talabani, it was indicated that not only PJAK but a dialogue with other Kurdish forces could also begin in Iran; he stated that they support this discussion. Bakırhan said that Turkey's government and state, beginning with Devlet Bahçeli, should support a possible negotiating table to be established between Kurds and the Iranian state in Iran.