05.08.2026 16:50
AK Party Spokesperson Ömer Çelik made statements following his party's Central Decision and Executive Board (CDEB) meeting. Speaking about the goal of a Terror-Free Turkey, Çelik said, 'Our President gave the relevant instructions regarding the point our efforts on a Terror-Free Turkey have reached today, and what needs to be done from now on to hopefully bring this entire process to success.'
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Our President has given the relevant instructions regarding the point reached today in our efforts on a Terror-Free Turkey and what needs to be done to successfully conclude this entire process, God willing.
AK Party Spokesperson Ömer Çelik made statements following his party's Central Decision and Executive Committee (MKYK) meeting.
EVALUATION OF SUPREME MILITARY COUNCIL DECISIONS
Here are the highlights from Ömer Çelik's statements:
The Supreme Military Council decisions have been implemented. We thank all our soldiers and commanders who have served until now and those who have left their posts. We also congratulate those who have taken on new roles and received new ranks. There is, of course, a pleasing aspect as well. With this Supreme Military Council, the number of female generals in the Turkish Armed Forces is increasing. This is highly gratifying. I would like to emphasize that the increase in the number of female generals across all our forces is extremely important as it demonstrates the quality of the Turkish army and that our women holding these high ranks should be regarded as an achievement of the Republic. We wish the heroic Turkish Armed Forces success as always.
\"THE MOST IMPORTANT STAGE OF THE 2-YEAR PROCESS HAS BEEN REACHED\"
Our President has given the relevant instructions regarding the point reached today in our efforts on a Terror-Free Turkey, and for what needs to be done, the stances that need to be taken, the tone to be used, and the unity and solidarity of the People's Alliance to successfully conclude this entire process, God willing. Similarly, he reiterated his instructions regarding the coordination of state institutions on this matter. With the draft law being submitted today, the most important stage of a two-year process has been reached.
\"THE THREATS WE HAVE FACED IN THE LAST 50 YEARS ARE 5-10 TIMES GREATER THAN OTHER COUNTRIES\"
Of course, I would like to particularly note one thing: the geography where the Republic of Türkiye and our one and only homeland is located is fraught with extremely great risks and threats. Even if we look at a history spanning not just a very long period but 300 years, or even our 100-year or last 50-year history, the threats we face are equivalent to threats that other countries might face perhaps over a period 5-10 times longer and at a lower intensity.
Therefore, our country faces very high and intense threats both due to its location and its other characteristics. Behind all this, of course, there are also certain political projects. There are initiatives trying to divert our country from its path and conspiring against the unity and integrity of our nation. Against all these, the Republic of Türkiye, with all its elements, has put up the strongest fight with the support of our nation. To this day, everything from coup attempts to the malicious intentions of certain imperialist and Zionist projects that have plagued our country has been prevented through the great sacrifices of our heroic martyrs and veterans. Once again, we ask God's mercy for our heroic martyrs. May their souls rest in heaven. We extend our respect to our heroic veterans. Of course, we also offer our most sincere respects and regards from the AK Party Headquarters to the families of our martyrs and veterans. I would like to state that we always keep them in our memory and they are always on our agenda.
\"GREAT EFFORT HAS BEEN EXPENDED FOR A TERROR-FREE TÜRKİYE\"
Indeed, a great deal of effort has been expended for the Terror-Free Türkiye and Terror-Free Region process. Undoubtedly, many studies have been conducted. We have lost count of the number of meetings we have held in the AK Party. We must have gathered hundreds of times. Together with all our colleagues, with the committee we formed, we have devoted intense labor and effort to this from early morning until late at night. Of course, when we closely observe the developments around us, and consider the dirty plans of imperialists and Zionists in our immediate region, and the evil networks they deploy to divide the region and pit its people against each other, the Terror-Free Türkiye and Terror-Free Region goal has essentially emerged as a result of the deep state wisdom of the Republic of Türkiye, the political wisdom manifested today in politics, Parliament, and other fields, and the values, knowledge, and foresight of our nation.
\"A RULELESS WORLD ORDER HAS BEEN ADOPTED\"
When we evaluate all these developments in our region together, especially when we focus on the last 10 years, what we will see is this: a rules-based world order has come to an end. A ruleless world order has been adopted. As a result of this chaotic picture that has emerged, all the seams of the world are coming apart. As you may recall, until recently, debates about the need to change the Sykes-Picot regime in the region were initiated by certain Western circles and think tanks. At that time, it was seen that this was not an approach aimed at eliminating the wrongs and harms Sykes-Picot brought to the region. On the contrary, they want a region that is more divided, more fragmented, and more conflicted with each other along ethnic and religious lines. Of course, a great deal of diplomacy was conducted regarding this. As you know, starting with the Arab Spring, Türkiye foresaw these waves and carried out extensive work against them. This has a long history, which I have mentioned from time to time. For instance, during the Arab Spring, they directed the legitimate reactions of peoples in some countries in a way that would destroy the institutions of those states and eliminate their state capacity. At that time, we had issued our warning. We had launched a new policy of fraternity in the region against this. Various powers, great powers, had intervened to sabotage it. Intelligence organizations had directly brought proxy wars into play through terrorist organizations.
Now, when we look at the last 3-5 years, we see that a much harsher wave is seeking to turn the entire region upside down. We had seen such an evil plan being deployed, one that wants to pit everyone against each other on a micro level along ethnic and religious lines—Sunni against Alevi, Alevi against Shia, Shia against Nusayri, Nusayri against Druze, Druze against Chaldean and Ezidi. But in the end, what happened was this: all these waves, amplified through terrorist organizations, caused the peoples of the region to suffer even more. Turks, Kurds, and Arabs suffered. Sunnis and Shias suffered. Ezidis and Chaldeans suffered. Amid all this, the region essentially paid a heavy price for being unable to assert its own will under its unique circumstances."}"
"A TERROR-FREE TÜRKİYE IS THE GREATEST RESPONSE TO THOSE WITH MALICIOUS INTENT"
Here is Türkiye's will, as expressed through "A Terror-Free Türkiye" and "A Terror-Free Region," and the framework that has emerged from it; this is, in fact, one of the greatest responses given to the imperialist and Zionist aggression that harbors malicious intent toward our region. Here, the millennia-old experience of our state, and the brotherhood and wisdom of our nation, distilled from thousands of years of history, have constituted the main dynamic of all these policies.
Therefore, if we were to define in a single sentence what "A Terror-Free Türkiye" and "A Terror-Free Region" mean, we could say it is a response given to those who harbor ill intentions toward everyone in our region—for Turks, Kurds, Arabs, Sunnis, Alevis, Shiites, and all others—in a way that will not allow these ill intentions to pass. Truly, very meticulous efforts have been carried out on this matter until today. But at the end of the day, the owners of this issue are all our 86 million citizens. At the end of the day, the sole authority that embodies the will of the matter is all our citizens. This entire process has been carried out based on this trust, this will, this experience, and the great wisdom distilled from history.
"THE PROCESS IS TO BUILD A FUTURE WHERE ALL PEOPLES WILL WALK SIDE BY SIDE, NOT FIST TO FIST"
Of course, these imperialist and Zionist projects I mentioned want the Turk, the Kurd, the Arab, the Sunni, the Alevi, the Shiite, the Nusayri, the Druze, the Chaldean, and the Yazidi to speak to each other with their fists. They want them to become divided fragments and small sects on religious and ethnic grounds and to address one another with their fists. This entire process we are carrying out, by eliminating the use of terrorist organizations as proxy elements by some, is to build a history and a future where all peoples in our near region—Turks, Kurds, Arabs, Sunnis, Shiites, Alevis, Nusayris, Druze, Yazidis, and Chaldeans—will walk side by side, not fist to fist, against those who want to bring us to blows. Just as in the past we gave the finest examples of civilization and coexistence in these regions, walking side by side and hand in hand, we must also see this as building a will, from now on, that walks arm in arm against imperialist and Zionist projects that want to bring us fist to fist or face to face, and that tries to shape the future together, hand in hand and arm in arm. In other words, when we look at the issue from a wide lens, from a much higher perspective, from a bit above, we can all easily see that the matter can reach much greater horizons. We are once again revealing our will to walk arm in arm, our will to walk hand in hand, and our will to build our own future shoulder to shoulder against those who try to bring us fist to fist, set us against each other, and turn the peoples of the region against one another.
"THE ARMED TERRORIST ORGANIZATION WILL CEASE TO BE A BURDEN ON OUR DEMOCRACY"
Of course, while all these efforts are being made, the main issue is the removal of the armed threat and the terrorist organization from the agenda. Türkiye has been facing the threat of an armed terrorist organization for a very long time. It has fought against this. Through the unparalleled sacrifices of our heroic martyrs and veterans, the achievement of the goals of this terrorism and the political projects behind it has been prevented. At the point reached today, the legal regulation made aims for the PKK/KCK terrorist organization, together with all its legal and illegal elements, branches, and extensions in Türkiye, Syria, Iraq, Iran, and Europe, to be removed from the agenda and to come to an end. This has been expressed extremely clearly until now. This is what will be followed from now on.
Of course, the removal of terrorism from the agenda is, in a sense, a process, as has also been explained legally and as is still being discussed on television. I have always said and expressed this. Within the framework of the qualities of our state and the values of our nation, this process is being carried out with the options presented through the possibilities and capabilities of the rule of law and democracy. All states have methods of combating such threats directed at them with what we call hard power. They also have various approaches to ending these issues with what we call soft power, that is, through the possibilities of law, politics, and democracy. In the past, even before the AK Party, these were brought to the agenda with the recommendations of the National Security Council. It was aimed to create a ground for those wishing to leave the terrorist organization. At the point reached today, drawing on all these experiences, a framework law has been prepared that presents trust and assurance together in an extremely reassuring manner.
"WITH TERRORISM OFF THE AGENDA, A BRAND NEW CLIMATE WILL EMERGE"
The end of the PKK/KCK terrorist organization, together with all its legal and illegal elements in Türkiye, Iraq, Iran, Syria, and Europe, will remove the armed terrorist element from being a burden on our democracy. With this disarmament, Türkiye will see together, if this process succeeds—and we will all continue to strive for its success—that this threat has ended. Armed threats and terrorist organizations are a burden on democracies. They affect the entire political climate and the rhythm of state life. This is extremely natural. Türkiye is not the only country in the world experiencing this. Many countries in Europe are also experiencing it. Democratic countries experience this even more. Because there are rules and legal principles that democratic countries must abide by.
"OUR COUNTRY WILL BE FREE FROM THIS THREAT"
Of course, with this terrorism being removed from the agenda, essentially a brand new climate will emerge. This new climate will enlarge the scale of our democracy with the lifting of the burden and stress on it. It will allow more room for the deepening of our democracy. It will enable a stronger political and democratic climate to emerge for taking certain democratic steps. From now on, if the disarmament process concludes, as we mentioned, with the determination and confirmation by a National Security Council decision that the PKK/KCK terrorist organization has ended, our democracy will be freed from the burden of the armed threat and the terrorist organization. The political climate and the ground for democratic debates will reach a dimension that enlarges its own scale. Therefore, Türkiye freeing itself from the burden of the terrorist organization means, at the same time, reaching a ground that will enlarge the scale of its democracy and add more oxygen to its political climate. The enlargement of the scale of democracy and the political climate gaining more oxygen means Türkiye putting forward a much higher performance as it moves toward the goals of the Century of Türkiye, contributes to regional peace, and contributes to global peace. Of course, all these discussions have also been used by certain external forces.
Many provocations have been faced that attempt to harm our brotherhood and damage it. For that reason, we have always said this: Do not compare by looking at some examples in the world. Because in most examples around the world, there were civil wars. There were ethnic clashes. There were religious clashes. There were divided and fragmented societal structures that emerged as a result of serious divisions. However, even during the most violent and stressful period of all these events, our nation, with its Turks, Kurds, Sunnis, Alevis, and all other elements, has never lost its quality of being a single nation. No citizen on the street has looked askance at their neighbor, their fellow resident, or their work colleague. This is Turkey's greatest strength. For that reason, we have said from the beginning that as we carry out this entire process, we act within the framework of our state's qualities and our nation's values.
"THE POLITICAL CLIMATE WILL EMBRACE EVERYONE AND HUG 86 MILLION"
Of course, the initiation and completion of the process of laying down arms—that is, the removal of the armed terrorist organization, along with all its branches and extensions I mentioned, from the agenda—will also make it possible to open a brand-new page for our future. A new wave and a new climate will emerge for the elimination of other terrorist organizations that have inserted themselves among brotherly peoples who are being set against each other in the region through proxy wars carried out via terrorist organizations. The step taken today with this legal framework, if you look at it from this perspective, will constitute a beginning. With the removal of the burden of terrorism, and with the end of the terrorist stress and threat over our democracy, once terrorism is off the agenda, a political climate that will greatly expand the scale of our democracy will surround and embrace everyone and hug 86 million. Its reflection on our Parliament, our economy, our civil society life, and on social segments that today think there is some distance between them will be immense, highly positive, and very valuable. Therefore, the contribution that each of us will make, within the framework I have mentioned here, for the successful completion of this process, the removal of the armed threat and the terrorist organization from the agenda, and the successful conclusion of this entire process, can essentially be considered a signature on Turkey's future. Because ultimately, humanity's struggle since the beginning of history has been to find the right ways to eliminate these armed threats. Since democracy became the main governance model, humanity has been using politics to reduce the cost of life. Today we said this: Apart from those who support this process, the rhetoric used by those who say they oppose it also needs to be very careful. That is, are they speaking within politics, or are they engaging in anti-politics? This is extremely important. Because doing politics means reducing the cost of life. Anti-politics, on the other hand, means increasing the cost of life. Today, while those who have no new approach to these issues in any way are faced with the necessity of developing a new perspective by reading regional and global developments, speaking with sentences we might still call anti-politics from within some status quos of the past is not signing the country's future, but quite the opposite: it is crossing out the country's future. Otherwise, criticism is a right. One of the greatest blessings of democracy is the institutionalization of criticism. But do these criticisms take place within politics or outside politics? After all, what politics should create, and what we desire with democracy, is the existence of a civilized societal life without guns and violence. It is the proper functioning of a civilized societal life. Today, as I mentioned in the first stage, the aim is only to remove the armed terrorist organization from the agenda. When we move to the second stage, once this burden on our democracy is lifted, it will be entirely possible to take steps that will carry the requirements of a civilized society to much further points. Now look, our region. Remember last year. We entered last New Year with the events in Syria. The region and the world experienced a massive upheaval. We talked about this issue for months. We entered this New Year with the events in Venezuela. Now we continue with the aftershocks from the attack by the United States and Israel on Iran and this Hormuz-centered chaos. The Russia-Ukraine War has entered its which year? It is still ongoing. Netanyahu and his genocide network are trying to extend the genocide in Gaza to the West Bank and Lebanon. Fragilities in various parts of the world are about to spill over into Latin America. Unfortunately, unwanted agendas are emerging suggesting that brand new conflict zones could form in Latin America. When we go to the Far East, there are other tensions there. In the midst of all this, a state with experience, a state that is not an upstart, will respond to this fragmentation—at a point where the world is heading toward disintegration—with integration, within law, equity, and principles.