The current process began on October 1, 2024, with an unexpected handshake in parliament between Devlet Bahçeli, leader of the far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), and legislators from the pro-Kurdish DEM Party. According to the pro-Kurdish news agency ANF, although this new process "has completed its first year, no legal steps have been taken" by the AKP-led government. The gesture was followed by a proposal from Bahçeli, who suggested that imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan could earn a "right to hope"—a potential path to release—if he renounced violence. This statement, later supported by President Erdoğan, set in motion a series of high-stakes negotiations.
In response, Öcalan issued a "Call for Democratic Society and Peace" on February 27, 2025, urging the PKK to "lay down their arms and dissolve" as a prerequisite for democratic integration. Crucially, he stipulated that this required "the recognition of the democratic political and legal dimension." The PKK acted on the call, declaring a ceasefire in March, holding a congress in May to officially end its armed struggle against Turkey, and staging a symbolic arms-burning ceremony in July.
Despite these actions from the Kurdish side, the Turkish government's response has been contradictory. While engaging in dialogue, authorities have continued military operations and intensified a political crackdown. Throughout late 2024 and early 2025, government-appointed trustees replaced dozens of democratically elected DEM Party mayors in cities like Mêrdîn, Colemêrg, and Wan. The process was also struck by tragedy with the death of Sırrı Süreyya Önder in May 2025, a key negotiator and DEM Party MP whom Öcalan mourned as "the language of peace."
The only tangible government action has been the recent formation of a cross-party parliamentary "Solidarity, Brotherhood, and Democracy Commission." After months of listening to various civil society groups, Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş announced that the commission is now ready to move towards establishing a "legal framework." As parliament reopens, the Kurdish movement and peace advocates are anxiously waiting to see if the government will finally deliver on the legal reforms necessary to cement the fragile peace, or if the year-long delay will erode the historic opportunity for a final settlement.
Photo: Gemini AI