Minister Tunç commented on the PKK's burning of weapons: "Today, the dagger that was thrust into our brotherhood has been removed."

11.07.2025 18:12

Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunç, who was a live guest on TV100, commented on the footage of the PKK terrorist organization's weapon burning, saying, "These are very important images. They represent the removal of the dagger that has been plunged into our brotherhood and the burning of that dagger."

Minister Tunç answered questions related to the agenda during a live broadcast on tv100 and made statements.

Highlights from Minister Tunç's statements are as follows:

"TODAY THE DAGGER STRUCK INTO OUR BROTHERHOOD IS REMOVED"

We are on a very historic day. One of the most important stages of the period without terrorism in Turkey is taking place today. The disarmament is on the agenda today. Especially, we are getting rid of the scourge of terrorism, which has been the biggest obstacle to the development and progress of our country for more than 40 years. This is a very important day for our republican history, for the history of our country, and for the peace and security of our nation, for our unity and solidarity.

In this meaningful period we have started towards the Century of Turkey, there is no reason for Turkey not to continue on its path without terrorism and become one of the strongest countries in the world. Today, the dagger struck into our 1000-year-old brotherhood is being removed. Unfortunately, when this dagger was stuck, we were in great trouble. Our nation was very uneasy, especially our citizens of Kurdish origin. They suffered the most in the region.

The terrorist organization stood as an obstacle to the development and progress of that region. It was not only an economic obstacle but also a dagger struck into our unity and solidarity. Efforts have begun to end this strife that imperial powers have brought into our country as soon as possible.

In this context, the speech made by our President on August 26 in Malazgirt was very important. He said there to strengthen the internal front. Regardless of ethnic origin, we are one with our Kurds, Turks, Laz, and Circassians; let’s not give opportunities to those who want to disrupt our thousand-year brotherhood. If those who want to disrupt this brotherhood succeed, they will reach their goals by tearing us apart and preventing Turkey's progress.

In this sense, the speech in Ahlat was important. After the emphasis on the internal front in Ahlat, the handshake of Mr. Bahçeli with the Demliler on the opening day of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey on October 1 and the subsequent process began. A month later, Mr. Bahçeli's speeches and calls at the group meeting of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. After that, the process and calls regarding the disbandment of the terrorist organization from İmralı. Then the terrorist organization disbanded itself, and today the weapons are being laid down. The burying and burning of weapons. In this sense, we have reached a very important point.

Here, we need to go back further than Ahlat. In 2025, the speech of our President in Diyarbakır. In fact, let’s go back a little further. The state of emergency had been extended 47 times. The last extension was made in 2002. When the AK Party came to power, the state of emergency was not extended again, and an important process was initiated for the normalization of the region. Subsequently, a major investment campaign was launched in the region. Without any discrimination, to all corners of Turkey… An airport was built in Hakkari Yüksekova, and an airport was built in Zonguldak's Çaycuma.

"DIFFICULT PROCESSES WERE PASSED"

An university was built in Şırnak, and an university was built in Sinop. Student dormitories, dams, schools, factories… A great struggle was made for the equal development of the region without any discrimination. During this process, we faced provocations from the terrorist organization. Bombs were thrown at construction sites. Therefore, very difficult processes were passed.

Terrorism has had a very high cost for Turkey; we have lost thousands of martyrs. We have lost our soldiers, police officers, health workers, teachers, civilians, and village guards. We have experienced great pains. Now, to ensure that these great pains are not experienced again and that Turkey continues on its path with strengthened unity and solidarity, especially while we are surrounded by a ring of fire. To the north, the Russia-Ukraine war, to the south, attempts to establish a terrorist state, and the desire to fragment Syria. At this point, especially the necessity for Turkey to continue on its path by strengthening its unity and solidarity against the regional developments in the Middle East has been seen by everyone. In this sense, the disbandment of terrorism and the laying down of arms have become a situation that is accepted worldwide. We are at a historic turning point for Turkey.

"WE CANNOT COUNT THE DAMAGES CAUSED BY TERRORISM"

We cannot count the damages caused by terrorism. From 1984 to the end of 2024, we lost 6,387 members of our Turkish Armed Forces, our soldiers. We lost 1,512 security guards, approximately 15 thousand security personnel, including 587 police officers. This process was not easy. Their struggle, the success in the fight against terrorism, especially for the peace and security of our country, has brought us to these points thanks to our martyrs who sacrificed their lives and their valuable families.

"THIS PROCESS IS NOT A PROCESS THAT WILL HURT MARTYR FAMILIES"

We have more than 30 thousand veterans. We have experienced great pains for our country. We have 12 Mehmetçiks who were martyred during search and rescue operations. We tried to share the pain of those families, but it is very difficult to ease those pains. Therefore, this process is not a process that will hurt our martyr families. They say that these children of the homeland should not be lost anymore, especially mothers should not experience these pains anymore. Therefore, we see their resilience. They say, 'Our child sacrificed his life for the future of our country, for the peace of our nation, for our unity and solidarity; if our peace and unity will come, our security will be ensured, we are ready for everything at this point.'

Therefore, we are grateful to the families of the martyrs. We have never engaged in any behavior or attitude that would hurt them, and we will not do so in the future.

Since the process began, especially by utilizing past experiences, our nation's relevant institutions, MIT, the Turkish Armed Forces, our Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and our Ministry of Interior have all been diligently and responsibly striving to fulfill their duties. We all had responsibilities. The relevant institutions of the state carried this out in complete coordination. If this coordination had not been established, and if we had been governed by coalitions as in past years, with disagreements among them... We experienced this in the 90s. Lack of coordination would not have brought this success.

"THE DAWN OF A TERROR-FREE TURKEY IS BREAKING"

After our President's emphasis on the internal front, the historic speech of the MHP Chairman, our coalition partner Mr. Devlet Bahçeli, was very important. With the support of our President's will, this beautiful picture emerged. We are at an important threshold. We can say that the dawn of a terror-free Turkey is breaking. While we are speaking here, we will see images of weapons being laid down and burned together.

Those who do not want the end of terrorism do not want Turkey's development. Those who have ambitions over the region do not want it. Here, those who love Turkey and its friends want Turkey to be free from terrorism. There may still be those in our domestic public who do not fully understand the process. This will become clearer during this process. In a period where Turkey's peace and security are further fortified, it will be said that more correct steps have been taken... Currently, there are still a few opposition parties that are not warm to this process. In the later stages, it will be said that this was the right process, it needed to be done, and if there are any alternative solutions, let them bring those solutions as well. Many things have been tried in Turkey.

For years, we have gone through armed struggles and resolution processes. We have experienced certain experiences. Considering the sensitivities of our nation, there is a process that is being carried out meticulously and in complete coordination.

Especially in the past 23 years, the democratization achieved in our country with the AK Party and in the last 5-7 years with the People's Alliance has eliminated the situations that prepared the ground for terrorism one by one, aiming for high-standard democracy and the eradication of the tutelary mentality.

The lifting of the state of emergency and the subsequent elimination of discrimination made it impossible for our citizens of Kurdish origin to campaign in their own language. These were prohibited. If they spoke, investigations would be opened against them.

At this point, Kurdish education, the establishment of institutes, and the introduction of Kurdish lessons in schools were all significant steps.

The leader of the terrorist organization himself stated that armed struggle would not lead to anything. He explained that the environment in Turkey has eliminated armed struggle through fundamental rights and freedoms and steps towards democratization. He stated that the PKK terrorist organization has become meaningless, that it needs to be dissolved, and that all groups need to lay down their arms from Imralı.

Therefore, there is no element that prepares the ground for terrorism in Turkey. In terms of democratization, Turkey has made and continues to make great strides in strengthening unity and solidarity in the Century of Turkey, and in reinforcing the rule of law. When the obstacle of terrorism is removed, this process and the development initiative will accelerate even more.

We have been fighting terrorism for over 40 years. Defense expenditures have always taken the first place in our budget. Why? Because we are fighting terrorism. To fight terrorism, we need weapons, we need bombs. We constantly bombed the mountains and the stones.

"THE REGION WANTS PEACE"

If we had not spent 2 trillion dollars on terrorism, what could we have done with those financial costs? These are truly significant losses. We could have built a hundred third bridges, a hundred dams, a hundred thousand kilometers of high-speed train railways, a hundred thousand kilometers of double roads, a thousand hydroelectric power plants, a thousand medium-sized international airports, a thousand thousand-bed city hospitals, a thousand hundred-bed hospitals, a thousand thousand-person libraries, and a thousand 24-classroom schools. When we count these, we see how great the economic loss is. 2 trillion dollars would have paid off all our domestic and foreign debts.

In 16 of our provinces, more than 1 million people have been forced to leave the region. In the early 70s, my father worked as a teacher in Diyarbakır-Silvan. Part of my childhood was spent in Topluca Village in Silvan. The region wants peace. The region wants brotherhood. Today, on this historic day, halays are being danced in Diyarbakır.

There will be tourism there, there will be production there, there will be education there. The children of the region will study. They will become useful people for the homeland and the nation. They will not be taken to the mountains, families will be at peace. It is a sensitive process; there may be those who want to sabotage the process.

A COMMISSION WILL BE ESTABLISHED IN THE GRAND NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

There is a process initiated by our Speaker of the Grand National Assembly, Numan Kurtulmuş. A commission is being considered to be established there. With the establishment of the commission, issues related to the process will be discussed there with the government and the opposition.

"THERE WERE RESTRICTIONS ON MEETINGS WITH IMRALI"

There have been meetings with the DEM Party deputies regarding the matters that fall under our Ministry's responsibilities at the Ministry of Justice.

We discussed the issues on the table, particularly those that need to be done and can be done... We consulted on matters that need to be addressed within the framework of law and regulations. There were particularly requests related to patients and detainees. There could be some problems arising from the implementation regarding these issues. Some studies were carried out regarding the referrals to forensic medicine and situations where they could not manage their lives in prison. There was a request regarding those who could not be released from prison despite completing their sentence due to the decisions of the administrative observation boards. Progress has been made on these matters. There were restrictions on visits to Imralı. For 4 years, there was a situation where they could not meet with their lawyers, members of parliament, and relatives. During the process, we made significant efforts to facilitate this process by ensuring meetings with their lawyers, members of parliament, and family visits.

"WE HAVE AN EFFORT TO ELIMINATE THE PERCEPTION OF IMPUNITY"

Some regulations were made in the 10th judicial package that requires legal arrangements in the Parliament. These regulations were not only related to this process but also to all our judicial institutions, our nation, and matters concerning criminal justice. There are also some regulations remaining in the 11th Judicial Package. They will come to the agenda of our Parliament after the legislative year opens in October.

In the 10th judicial package, we have an effort to eliminate the perception of impunity. In addition to that, we made a legal arrangement to make applicable those provisions in our legislation that are called special execution procedures but have not been implemented in terms of the amount of punishment.

PERSONS WHO CAN SERVE THEIR SENTENCE AT HOME

For crimes under 3 years, women, children, and individuals over 65 years old can serve their sentences at home. Individuals over 70 years old can serve their sentences at home for crimes under 4 years. Individuals over 75 years old who commit crimes under 5 years can serve their sentences at home. If they are over 80 years old, they can serve their sentences at home for crimes under 6 years. Terror and sexual crimes are excluded from this.

If a terrorist offender is a serious criminal and has a forensic report, and if they have not received aggravated life imprisonment and are seriously ill, their sentence can already be postponed. Instead of postponement, a regulation was made to serve their sentence at home. A possibility of serving a sentence at home was introduced for mothers who give birth.

MINISTER TUNÇ COMMENTED ON THE WEAPONS BURNING IMAGES LIKE THIS

Today is Friday, I hope it will be a blessed Friday. It will be the beginning of a Turkey without terrorism. Great efforts have been made. A significant struggle has been carried out for more than 40 years. We have lost thousands of martyrs in this cause. We will fully uphold the trust of our martyrs. We will fully uphold the trust of our veterans. They fought for a Turkey without terrorism. They gave their lives, therefore, let this trust be a peaceful Turkey. Let it be a Turkey without terrorism. These are very important images. The removal of the dagger struck at our brotherhood and the burning of that dagger are these images.

ARE OPERATIONS ONLY CARRIED OUT ON CHP MUNICIPALITIES?

The judiciary, public prosecutors do not look at the party or ideology when a crime is committed. If a crime has been committed and there is strong suspicion, they do not hesitate to take the necessary steps. The perception that it is only done to the CHP and not to others is also wrong. This has actually been published on television and in newspapers. Which municipalities have been involved in lawsuits opened in recent years? In the last 10 years, the number of municipalities for which the Ministry of Interior has granted investigation permission is higher for the AK Party. The CHP comes in second. For AK Party municipalities, 30 lawsuits have been opened, with 13 convictions, 7 ongoing cases, and 10 acquittals. 13 of the 30 cases resulted in convictions. There are district municipalities, town municipalities. There are especially those caught in the act. There are those who have been tried and convicted for embezzlement, abuse of office, and bribery. Such a distinction cannot be made. When an investigation is conducted on CHP municipalities, the party supports them. The party leader immediately calls for a rally. Our president says he is innocent. At the investigation stage, you do not even know the file, but 30 lawsuits have been opened against AK Party municipalities, did our party support them? The party expelled them. There are AK Party mayors in prison due to the earthquake case.

"TODAY, THE DAGGER THAT STRUCK AT OUR THOUSAND-YEAR BROTHERHOOD IS BEING REMOVED"

On the other hand, Minister Tunç also made a post on his social media account regarding the disarmament process of the terrorist organization PKK. Minister Tunç stated, "The act of the terrorist organization, which has been the biggest obstacle to the peace, unity, and development of our country for years, to lay down its arms and burn them is one of the most important steps towards our ideal of a 'Turkey without terrorism.' Today, the dagger that struck at our thousand-year brotherhood is being removed. The divisive fitna that has been inserted into our noble nation by imperialists and their subcontractors is being uprooted with the permission of Allah, the resolute stance of our President Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the leader of the MHP Mr. Devlet Bahçeli, and the resilience of our noble nation. Turkey, freed from the scourge of terrorism, will now devote its energy to stability, development, and prosperity. With the complete disarmament of the terrorist organization, we will all experience the honor of leaving a safer and more peaceful country for future generations," he said.

"WE WILL FURTHER INCREASE OUR UNITY, TOGETHERNESS, AND BROTHERHOOD"

Minister Tunç continued his statement with the following remarks: "We are the branches of a great tree with roots deep in the ground. From now on, we will further increase and strengthen our unity, togetherness, and brotherhood. With the realization of our goal of a 'Turkey without terrorism,' we will build the Century of Turkey more strongly; we will carry a developed, prosperous, and greater Turkey into the future with the spirit of brotherhood. We remember our heroic martyrs who sacrificed their lives for the homeland, flag, and nation with mercy and gratitude, and we express our respect and reverence for all our veterans who dared to walk towards martyrdom for their sacrifices."

We express our gratitude to our President Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Mr. Devlet Bahçeli, as well as everyone who has contributed and made efforts, by saying 'first Turkey, first our nation' and working tirelessly towards the realization of our goal of a 'Turkey without terrorism.'

Minister Tunç's statement is as follows;