05.08.2026 20:40
New Party Chairman Özgür Özel, regarding the framework law proposal submitted to the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM) Presidency, criticized that no joint work was carried out while preparing the proposal, saying, "There is no change in our political approach, but it is an extremely wrong move in terms of procedure and tone. Keeping the proposal text secret, collecting signatures on blank papers, and delivering it to the Parliament Presidency half an hour after sending it to the other political party is contrary to the spirit of the matter."
The AK Party TBMM Group evaluated the Bill on Strengthening National Solidarity and Social Cohesion, consisting of 12 articles, at its closed group meeting. Following the meeting, the bill was finalized and submitted to the TBMM Speaker's Office.
ÖZGÜR ÖZEL'S PROCEDURAL CRITICISM: CONTRARY TO THE SPIRIT OF THE MATTER
Yeni Party Chairman Özgür Özel made his first assessment after the framework law was submitted to the TBMM Speaker's Office.
"No joint work was carried out while preparing this bill. The AK Party collected signatures on blank papers from its own group. They sent it to party groups in sealed envelopes this afternoon. As we were starting the meeting with the team we sent as delegates to the relevant parliamentary commission chairs and the Terror-Free Turkey Commission established in Parliament, having multiplied and reviewed the text, they submitted it to the Parliament Speaker's Office within half an hour.
There is no change in our political approach, but it is an extremely wrong move in terms of procedure and tone. Of course, members of parliament and party groups can contribute to the text and express their criticisms in the Parliamentary Commission. However, keeping the bill text a secret, collecting signatures on blank papers, and submitting it to the Parliament Speaker's Office half an hour after sending it to another political party is contrary to the spirit of the matter.
"OUR SENSITIVITY AND RESERVATION ON THIS ISSUE CONTINUE"
The commission report we are in had sections 6 and 7 regarding the process. This bill relates to section 6. We said it then too; these matters should proceed intertwined, not successively, as sections 6 and 7. Section 6 concerns the Penal Code, and section 7 concerns democratization, from compliance with Constitutional Court and ECHR decisions to ending the trustee practice and regulating numerous democratic openings. Our sensitivity and reservation on this issue continue. After this law is enacted, efforts must be made to rapidly prepare the seventh section during the period to confirm and determine the laying down of arms.
"WE CAN SOLVE THE ROOT CAUSES OF THE PROBLEM WE ARE TRYING TO SOLVE TODAY BY TAKING BOLD, DECISIVE, AND SWIFT STEPS TOWARD SECTION 7 OF THE COMMISSION REPORT"
Resolving the Kurdish issue alone under section 6 is not sufficient. Solving the Kurds' problems or Turkey's democracy problem cannot be done with section 6 alone. Section 6 may be the end of a process, a technical necessity, but section 7 should be the beginning of a democratic process, the beginning of peace, the beginning of brotherhood, and the beginning of Kurds and Turks walking together securely toward a common future. Additionally, our criminal law expert colleagues and lawyer members of parliament have technical criticisms regarding the bill, which we will also express separately. But the main point we want to highlight is that we can solve the root causes of the problem we are trying to solve today by taking bold, decisive, and swift steps toward section 7 of the commission report. Otherwise, the execution arrangement may eliminate some results but not the cause."