06.01.2026 16:06
DEVA Party Co-Chair Tülay Hatimoğulları stated at her party's group meeting, "The peace process cannot be left to uncertainty, it cannot be prolonged. In the first stage, some steps need to be taken quickly. We have said it many times, we have repeated it a lot; Mr. Abdullah Öcalan should be provided with free communication and information conditions."
DEM Party Co-Chair Tülay Hatimoğulları spoke at her party's group meeting in the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM). Hatimoğulları stated that democratic guarantees have been increasingly destroyed in 2025, saying, "Human rights violations were intended to be seen as normal by us. Unfortunately, violence against women has increased without slowing down, opposition mayors and administrations have been arrested, and trustees have been appointed to municipalities. Women, youth, workers, laborers, and defenders of nature and human rights faced the violence of the government against the slightest democratic objection. Almost three years have passed, yet the wounds of the earthquake have still not been healed," she expressed.
"FREE COMMUNICATION CONDITIONS MUST BE PROVIDED FOR ÖCALAN"
Stating that they are faced with the simultaneous growth of peace and democracy in 2026, Tülay Hatimoğulları said:
"The fundamental problem in Turkey is this; the historical opportunity that has arisen for peace is not met with concrete political and legal steps. The process is managed with uncertainties and is prolonged over time. This does not advance peace. Peace requires openness, courage, and a determined will. As the DEM Party, we insist on emphasizing this; the peace process cannot be left to uncertainty, cannot be prolonged over time, and cannot be squeezed into the shadow of other political files. This process can only progress with a democratization and peace package that will pass through the Parliament, not with a declaration of intent. Initially, some steps need to be taken quickly. We have said it many times, we have repeated it many times; free communication and messaging conditions must be provided for Mr. Abdullah Öcalan. Parties have submitted their reports. Everyone wrote their report from their own perspective. What needs to be done quickly from now on is to reveal a report with a common consensus. While preparing the common report, it should be written with a perspective that will serve the solution instead of imposing red lines. We are all aware that the commission cannot solve the Kurdish issue in all its dimensions. However, the commission is responsible for ensuring that steps are taken to shift the Kurdish issue from a ground of violence to a legal and political ground. For this, a special law regarding the PKK and its consequences should be enacted first. The trustee regime must be ended immediately. The extension of the trustee's term in Mardin despite Ahmet Türk's acquittal contradicts the spirit of this process.
A democratic integration law should be enacted; comprehensive, fair, and egalitarian regulations should be made in the execution law. Political prisoners must be released immediately. The Commission must work for this, the Parliament must work for this. Today, a historical responsibility stands before the Parliament and the political institution. Peace is not just a government policy; it is a matter of building Turkey's common future. From here, we clearly call out to both the government and the opposition, peace cannot be sacrificed to vote calculations, election calendars, polls, polemics, or different agendas. The responsibility of the government is not to postpone the process but to advance it with concrete and reassuring steps."
"THE LANGUAGE OF THREAT DOES NOT BRING PEACE TO THE REGION"
Hatimoğulları responded to MHP Chairman Devlet Bahçeli's remarks during his party's group meeting in the Parliament regarding the ongoing integration talks between the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria and the Temporary Government of Damascus, saying, "Either through consensus or by force, the unitary structure of Syria needs to be built.":
"A very important message regarding a solution, peace, and brotherhood towards Syria was published by Mr. Öcalan on the eve of the New Year. Within hours, the Minister of National Defense Yaşar Güler made threats. We say once again, abandon this language of threat. This process cannot be advanced through threats; it is not a process that can be pushed forward by highlighting the language of threat. The peoples of Syria need us, not threats. I also call out to the MHP leaders from here, the language of threat does not bring peace to the region. We need a period where dialogue speaks, not weapons. It is very important for everyone to act without forgetting this duty and responsibility for a moment. The voices of those in Syria who are the most reasonable, who favor solutions and coexistence need to be heard, not suppressed. The other day, the temporary Damascus Administration held a meeting with the Autonomous Administration. The subject of the meeting was to negotiate the integration process. We hope that a solution will emerge from these meetings. As Mr. Öcalan said, Turkey should take on a facilitating, constructive, and dialogue-open role in this sense. Let us not forget that Syria does not belong only to the Arabs. Syria is a geography that hosts Arabs, Kurds, Druze, Armenians, and people from many different nations and beliefs. The most important way to prevent chaos and turmoil in Syria again is through the democratization of Syria. Turkey's duty in this sense is to support this."
Source: DHA, ANKA