As discussions on peace efforts and the parliamentary commission on the Kurdish issue continue in Turkey, politician Ahmet Yıldırım shared his assessment of the process.
Yıldırım noted that many politicians ignore the roots of the Kurdish question and the historical background of peace initiatives, and he discussed the current stage, the potential benefits of peace, and the opportunities and obstacles facing the process.
Yıldırım recalled that Abdullah Öcalan’s pursuit of peace is not new, dating back more than three decades and said: “Right after the collapse of real socialism, the meeting held on 17 March 1993 in Bar Elias with President Turgut Özal’s envoys was a prototype of the declaration issued on 27 February.”
Yıldırım explained that even at that time, Abdullah Öcalan stated that the armed struggle had undergone a structural transformation and needed to culminate in peace.
Yıldırım emphasized that Öcalan revised himself, his organization, and his struggle according to changing global conditions, prioritizing a solution aligned with the needs of the modern world. However, Yıldırım said that successive Turkish governments have failed to overcome their “nationalist reflexes and phobias,” and he added that it is painful that the country’s search for peace has often been driven not by internal democratic will, but by regional circumstances and external pressures.
The European model should be taken as an example
Ahmet Yıldırım stated that Europe’s peacebuilding process after the First and Second World Wars and drew attention to how that painful history was transformed into lasting peace.
Yıldırım said that after millions of people lost their lives, Europe managed to come together despite ethnic and national differences. He referred to the “history of shame” lessons taught in German primary schools, describing them as an approach that demonstrates how destructive wars are and that civilized societies resolve their problems through dialogue rather than weapons.
Yıldırım noted that nearly 50,000 people have lost their lives in Turkey’s conflicts and warned that fueling politics of hatred and revenge based on this pain would be wrong. He said that, as part of the Middle East, Turkey could learn from these experiences and build a model peace instead of repeating the region’s tragedies.
Yıldırım said, “It is fortunate that we did not leave millions dead behind,” and added that Turkey can follow a different path amid the region’s ongoing conflicts and become a pioneer of peace.
The parliamentary commission must call for legal and constitutional change
Yıldırım said that one of the biggest obstacles to the peace process is that politicians place their electoral interests above the common future of 86 million people, warning that “whoever repeats this mistake today will bear responsibility before history.” He stressed that freeing politics from such calculations would create a vast and comfortable space for building peace.
Assessing the work of the parliamentary commission, Yıldırım said that so far it has not moved beyond a mere declaration of intent. While he found it valuable that academics were invited, he criticized the fact that many of the other invitees were limited to relatives of those who died in the conflict from only certain sides, as well as pro-state groups that had cooperated with the state in the past. He noted that this approach prevents the process from advancing on an inclusive and fair basis, confining the search for peace to a narrow framework.
Yıldırım underlined that for the process to move forward, the commission must take concrete steps, which should be reflected in legal reforms to be brought before the General Assembly of Parliament. He said, “Steps must be taken to resolve a century-old issue.”
He added that draft legal proposals should be submitted to Parliament immediately after October 1, otherwise the commission would undermine its own efforts.
Öcalan must be heard
Ahmet Yıldırım stated that one of the most crucial steps for the progress of the peace process is for state officials and the parliamentary commission to reach the stage of hearing Öcalan. Yıldırım said: “Rather than debating this publicly, a courageous decision should be made, either Mr. Öcalan should be invited to Ankara to speak before the commission, or representatives from all political parties should go to Imralı and meet with him directly. They must receive concrete proposals from a person who had the courage to dissolve his own organization and to end the use of arms and violence.”
The economic crisis is linked to the deadlock of the Kurdish issue
Ahmet Yıldırım stated that one of the most significant benefits peace would bring to the country is economic prosperity and said: “All economic indicators show that Turkey is facing the most severe economic crisis in the history of the Republic. This crisis must be understood in connection with the deadlock of the Kurdish issue and with inflation.”
He emphasized that war impoverishes the country while peace enriches society, supporting this view with concrete data. Yıldırım pointed out that the longest period of economic growth in the Republic’s history (2012–2016) coincided with the first peace process, when dialogue efforts were still active.
Yıldırım said, “However, between 2016 and 2022, there has not been another period in the Republic’s history in which per capita income declined for seven consecutive years,” and stressed that this decline is directly related to the termination of the peace process and the return to a cycle of violence.
Yıldırım emphasized that the losses caused by war and the gains brought by peace should be explained to society objectively and through concrete data from the past twelve years, leaving no room for interpretation. He said that accurately conveying these facts could help build social consent and mobilization for the process. He noted that public support today remains far more limited compared to the first peace process.
Yıldırım noted that during the 2013–2015 peace process, there were no images or videos of Abdullah Öcalan, and that a single letter read at the 2013 Newroz was enough to bring millions of people to the squares. He underlined that today’s level of social mobilization is far behind that period.
He said that everyone must reflect on why they have failed to generate social consent and highlighted the importance of discussing new ways and methods to strengthen public support.
Yıldırım added that merely criticizing the government’s shortcomings is a form of complacency and avoidance of responsibility, stressing that the issue requires a comprehensive approach, one that also includes steps to influence and change the behavior of the opposing side.