Dem Party members of the Parliamentary Commission for National Solidarity, Brotherhood and Democracy, Gülistan Kılıç Koçyiğit, Meral Danış Beştaş, Hakkı Saruhan Oluç, Celal Fırat, and Cengiz Çiçek issued a written statement regarding the ongoing process seeking a solution to the Kurdish question following Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan’s February 27 ‘Call for Peace and Democratic Society’.
The statement on Thursday said the following: “The National Solidarity, Brotherhood, and Democracy Commission, established within the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, has been continuing its activities since August 5, 2025. The commission was established with the aim of creating a legal and political foundation that will contribute to the democratic and peaceful resolution of the Kurdish question.
We would like to reiterate that we consider it extremely valuable that political parties representing the vast majority of the public will are represented in the Commission, particularly in light of one of the most fundamental issues facing the Republic. This political will has, for the first time, brought the political institution and arena, which should play a historic role in resolving the issue, closer to being a party to the solution at this level.
With its, during this period marked by distinctive characteristics and historic calls and developments, there is a high public expectation that the Commission will play its role in the parliamentary arena. While we recognize that the Commission is not responsible for everything, we are also aware that if it plays its role correctly and functionally, it will make a contribution that will open the door to historic developments.
1. The first phase of the Commission’s work is being completed, and the hearings are coming to an end. We would like to reiterate that we find the thoughts and suggestions of individuals and institutions from different circles regarding peace and a solution extremely valuable. From our party’s perspective, the main outcome of the hearing phase is the inevitability of a democratic and peaceful solution to the Kurdish issue. Although their references and bases may differ, the statements made to the Commission have once again demonstrated that a historical solution to the Kurdish issue is imperative.
2. Many institutions and individuals have stated that the transition to the positive peace phase of the process is as important as the negative peace phase, which is considered to be a state of non-conflict. We find the observations that emerged during the hearing phase to be very valuable, such as the fact that “the establishment of justice, the building of social trust, the institutionalization of equality, and the clear expression of the will for different identities to live together equally and peacefully” are necessary for positive peace; that the environment of trust can be “achieved through the principle of reciprocity”; the importance of “eliminating root causes” based on the understanding that the issue “cannot be reduced to the dimension of armed conflict”; that “lasting peace cannot be achieved through security policies alone”; “abandoning policies of rejection, denial, and assimilation”. We strongly emphasize that the Commission should benefit from these recommendations that emerged during the hearings in its future work.
3. It would be accurate to develop a lasting solution by addressing the issue in its political, cultural, social, and economic dimensions. Recognizing the fact that the issue has taken on a regional and global character, the Commission should consider hearing Mr. Abdullah Öcalan, whose organizational, political, and social relevance and level of influence are clear, as a necessity for a lasting solution to the issue. The real solution lies in calling the problem by its name and thinking and acting according to the truth, without distorting the reality based on our own perspective. The Commission’s hearing of Mr. Öcalan is of decisive importance for the successful conclusion of the current process.
4. With the opening of Parliament, the first phase, which can be described as a political and social phase, will give way to the second phase, which we define as the legal phase. The Commission’s raison d’être is to formulate recommendations and drafts regarding the legislative amendments required by the process. Our party’s relevant committees have been preparing since the beginning of the process for the necessary amendments to the Transition Period Law, the Enforcement Law, the Turkish Civil Code (TMK), the Turkish Penal Code (TCK), and the Code of Criminal Procedure (CMK); the strengthening and democratization of local administrations, regulations to the trusteeship system; regulations to combat discrimination; and education in mother tongue. With the opening of the new legislative year, the most fundamental task of the second phase is for the parties represented in the Commission to submit concrete proposals on the relevant topics and to work towards reaching a consensus on these proposals. This is because one of the most important steps in permanently eliminating the grounds for conflict is the establishment of the rule of law and the achievement of equality before the law.
5. On the other hand, it is noteworthy that the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, in its decision dated September 17, 2025, referred to the Peace and Democratic Society Process, and pointed to the duties of the Commission and the parliament regarding the ‘Right to Hope.’ In an environment where the Committee of Ministers points to relevant political and legal steps in Turkey, taking the steps required by the process in the context of the Right to Hope, taking initiatives, and accepting this as a principle will be one of the most vital developments for a fair, equal, democratic, and social solution to the Kurdish issue.
6. As the DEM Party, our fundamental goal within the scope of the Commission’s activities is to remove the Kurdish issue from the ground of conflict and create opportunities for legal and political solutions. It is imperative that the Kurdish issue be addressed from a perspective of democratization and the mindset transformation that this requires. As an academic stated during the hearings, “Not every peace may result in democracy, but democracy will not come to Turkey without resolving the Kurdish issue.”