Analysis
Smart, independent reporting on Turkey's politics, economy and foreign affairs.
As the Turkish peace process with Kurds enters a period of turbulence following shifting dynamics and territorial changes in Syria, MHP Chair Devlet Bahçeli, who initiated the process, has stepped up efforts to prevent it from unraveling even as rhetoric hardens between the ruling bloc and the DEM Party.
Turkey joined Damascus, welcoming the victory of Syrian government forces and the defeat of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which further strained the ongoing peace process. Tensions in the political arena rose after a Turkish flag was brought down during the DEM Party’s group meeting in the border town of Nusaybin, neighboring Qamishli. The name of the person who brought down the Turkish flag was not shared by the government, but an investigation was launched, while the DEM Party described the incident as a provocation, recalling similar instances from the past.
Following the PKK’s decision to lay down arms, the newly launched “peace process” has become tangled up in tensions over Syria. The military operation by the Damascus regime that pushed the SDF/YPG out of two Kurdish neighborhoods in Aleppo has strained relations between the AKP–MHP alliance and the DEM Party, ending a cautious rapprochement as part of the process. It has also disrupted a positive atmosphere that had lasted for nearly a year, raising fresh doubts about the prospects of success.
MHP Chair Devlet Bahçeli said there was no problem with the rally calling for the release of Abdullah Öcalan to be held by the DEM Party in Diyarbakır on Jan. 4, 2026.
Veteran Kurdish politician Ahmet Türk of the DEM Party has been acquitted of charges of promoting terrorist propaganda over a 2011 speech in Siirt, which had formed the legal basis for his replacement by a trustee as mayor of Mardin.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will meet with the DEM Party’s İmralı delegation for the third time on Oct. 28, according to party officials. The delegation will include Van MP Pervin Buldan and Şanlıurfa MP Mithat Sancar, both senior figures in the DEM Party.
DEM Party MP Cengiz Çandar said that despite public support for the ongoing peace process in Turkey being at 70 %, the trust rate is lower due to a lack of information.
The 11th session of Turkey’s parliamentary commission on the Kurdish peace process saw its first major confrontation, as comments from an Islamist group sparked a dramatic walkout by members of the DEM Party.
The 11th session of Turkey’s parliamentary commission on the Kurdish peace process saw its first major confrontation, as comments made by a representative of the İslami Tebliğ Tedris İlim Hareketi Adamları Association (İTTİHAD) prompted a dramatic walkout by members of the DEM Party. The controversy began when Mehmet Beşir Şimşek, a senior figure in İTTİHAD, addressed the commission on Sept. 18. The group is widely known for its ideological ties to Turkish Hizbullah, which was linked to a series of extrajudicial killings in the 1990s, many involving victims bound and executed using the notorious “pig-tie” method.
DEM Party Deputy Parliamentary Group Chair Gülistan Kılıç Koçyiğit has renewed her party’s call for the National Solidarity, Brotherhood and Democracy Commission to visit imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan on İmralı Island.
A DEM Party delegation traveled to İmralı Island on Aug. 28 to meet with jailed PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan, the first visit since Parliament formed the National Solidarity, Brotherhood and Democracy Commission.
The DEM Party delegation will visit Abdullah Öcalan, the jailed PKK founder, on İmralı Island on Aug. 28, following weeks of criticism over limited access.