The 16th meeting of the National Solidarity, Brotherhood, and Democracy Commission, established in Parliament as part of the Peace and Democratic Society Process, has begun. At today’s meeting, the Commission will first hear Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunç. The meeting is closed to the press.
Speaking at the opening of the meeting, Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş said the following: “We are progressing towards the stage of preparing the final report on the commission’s work. First of all, I would like to state that this process, the commission’s work since August 5, has been proceeding successfully. It will continue in this manner until the last day. Above all, this is a historic commission. Its mission and task are historic. It has taken on responsibility on behalf of the nation. A broad-based negotiation process has been carried out.
During the negotiations, everyone listened to each other with exceptional maturity. They treated each other’s ideas with respect. The Commission demonstrated democratic standards of the highest caliber, setting an example for Turkish democracy. The Commission performed an important task on behalf of the nation, monitoring the requirements of the organization’s disarmament and self-dissolution process and forming opinions based on the shared views of political parties. It will continue to do so. We have said from the very beginning of this process that this work does not represent the views, wishes, or expectations of just one group, party, or faction. Therefore, one of the main responsibilities of our commission has been to find common ground, with everyone keeping their own ideas to themselves, and thus to be able to carry out this task, this historic duty, together, with shared goals.
It is also important to adhere to this principle. Furthermore, I want to reiterate that the bicycle metaphor has been used extensively in this process; it is unthinkable that one side should fulfill its responsibilities while the other lags behind, or that someone else should act differently. The will is clear here. The statements from Imrali, through which the organization declared that it had disbanded and would no longer continue its organizational activities with all its components, have been taken to a new level, particularly with the statement made on October 26. An important threshold has been crossed. In the process to come, both the organization’s presence in the field will be dissolved, and our country’s security units will identify and register it, and the Parliament will implement the legal regulations required by this process.
This is not a constitutional amendment commission. There has been no agenda regarding changes to the constitution. The issue has not been raised. The commission will present a framework to the council that outlines the steps to be taken after the organization has dissolved itself and this has been identified and registered by security officials. Significant progress has been made within this framework.”