PEACE PROCESS STALLS AGAIN
The parliament has not established a commission to monitor progress on the surrender of weapons and personnel by the Kurdistan Workers’ Party or PKK, and Kurdish groups are complaining the process is stalled.
Analysis
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KURDISH GROUPS INTENSIFY PRESSURE ON GOVERNMENT TO START THE RETURN PROCESS
The pro-Kurdish DEM Party has called for the peace process law to be freed from the “tutelage” of the National Security Council (MGK), as a delayed council decision holds up implementation.
STEPS ON DISARMAMENT AND ÖCALAN’S STATUS ARE EXPECTED
With the start of the new legislative year on Oct. 1, the main agenda will be the ongoing peace process concerning the Kurdish issue, which faces gridlock about the timing of demands over disarmament, legal guarantees, and the official status of jailed PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan.
ÖCALAN'S STATUS CLARIFIED ON THE PEACE PROCESS BY PRESIDENTIAL ADVISOR
Uçum said the role assigned to Öcalan should not be interpreted differently, and that the residence built for him on İmralı Island is an additional unit attached to the prison, after the reactions on the construction of a villa announced by MHP Chair Devlet Bahçeli.
GOVERNMENT, DEM PARTY DIVERGE ON HOW FAST PEACE PROCESS SHOULD MOVE
The government and DEM Party disagree over how fast Turkey's Kurdish peace process should move, with AKP officials predicting the effort will extend into the new year while DEM Party, which will hold its congress Sept. 6, is pushing for results within a shorter timeline.
PEACE PROCESS MOVES FORWARD, BUT FEARS OF SABOTAGE GROW
With the framework law in force and mechanisms in place to allow the return of PKK militants, the peace process has moved into a new phase — not without controversy.
A PEACE PROCESS DEVOID OF DEMOCRATIZATION
The first concrete step has been taken in the PKK's disarmament process, a subject Turkey has been discussing for nearly 22 months. The law that will form the legal groundwork for the group's disarmament passed parliament with what has been called a 'historic consensus.' Next comes implementation. But the real question is will this process, dubbed 'Terror-Free Turkey,' contribute to the country's democratization?
İYİ PARTY’S NEW COURSE UNDER MÜSAVAT DERVİŞOĞLU
The İYİ Party was the only party to vote as a bloc against the framework law on the Kurdish peace process. Its instincts on the nationalist right are already well known. But before turning to the party, it is worth dwelling for a moment on its chair. Let us begin with his name: Müsavat.
YENİ PARTY’S NUANCED APPROACH ON FRAMEWORK BILL
Although the Yeni Party did not sign the framework bill designed to advance the Kurdish peace process, some of its MPs are expected to support the law in the General Assembly, since some of its MPs contributed to the commission in the parliament under the CHP banner.
PEACE PROCESS LEGISLATION KEPT SECRET UNTIL LAST MINUTE
The framework bill that will advance the Kurdish peace process through the return of militants has reached its final stage, but its content was withheld from all parties, including the DEM Party, until the last moment.
THE FRAMEWORK OF ABDULLAH ÖCALAN
Amid the noise and turmoil within the CHP, it did not attract much public attention, but traffic around the Kurdish Peace Process has intensified in recent days. A DEM delegation traveled to İmralı and returned with a message from Abdullah Öcalan.
DEM PUSHES RULING ALLIANCE TO PASS PEACE PROCESS FRAMEWORK LAW BEFORE RECESS
The DEM Party is intensifying pressure on the AKP/MHP ruling alliance to pass the framework law underpinning Turkey's Kurdish peace process before parliament enters for its summer recess — even as the party struggles to extract details of the draft from the AKP. The push has produced a flurry of contacts. İmralı Delegation members Pervin Buldan and Mithat Sancar, together with Faik Özgür Erol, met AKP Deputy Chair Efkan Ala and AKP Group Chair Abdullah Güler on July 15, and MHP Chair Devlet Bahçeli at his office in parliament the following day. Asked about the talks, Buldan declined to elaborate: 'We will not give information on the content.'