According to KurdPress, Tuncer Bakrkhan, co-chair of the Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DemParty), gave a speech during the review of the bill "Strengthening National Solidarity and Social Integration" in the Turkish Parliament's General Assembly, about the importance of this bill and the next steps in the peace and democratic society process.

Bakrkhan began his speech by greeting political prisoners and the Turkish people and honoring the memory of Sari Soraya Onder, a late member of the Imrali Committee.

He said that the century-old Kurdish issue has emerged from the shadow of conflict for the first time and is being discussed in parliament in the form of a legal and negotiable text: "Today we are witnessing this historic transition. This bill is the compass for the country to move in a new direction, and the institution that should lead us on this path is the Grand National Assembly of Turkey.»

Parliament is responsible for resolving the issue through politics

Referring to the history of Turkish governments’ security dealings with the Kurdish issue, Bakrkhan said that since the early years of the republic, from the “Establishment of Peace” law and independence courts to military governments and the state of emergency, this issue has always been managed outside the normal process of politics and law.

He added that all Turkish people have paid the price for this approach, but now there is an opportunity to close the “page of pain and denial.”

According to Bakrkhan, the importance of the current stage is that a historical knot is finally being untied by politics and in parliament: “Parliament is faced with the responsibility of resolving this issue through politics and negotiations, and there is the necessary will to do this in the parliament.»

Framework Law; The First Step to Resolving the Conflict

The co-chair of the DAP said that the Framework Law is not a law to grant concessions to a group and that it should not be considered the result of a trade-off or a sign of victory or defeat for one side.

He stated: “This law is the first step to resolving the conflict and improving the historical relations between Kurds and Turks. This process has only one winner, and that is all of Turkey and its 86 million citizens. Peace is not a competition and it should not be considered a scoreboard between nations.”

Addressing Turkish citizens, Bakr Khan said that this process will not diminish their rights and that the territorial integrity and values ​​of the country are not subject to negotiation: “For a hundred years, the fear of disintegration has been instilled in you, while what brought Turkey closer to disintegration more than anything else was the conflict itself.”

Addressing the Kurds, he also said that this process does not mean melting down their identity, but rather aims to bring the existence of the Kurds into the legal framework.Bakrhan added that the Kurds' concern about repeating past experiences is understandable, but the Kurdish society is now an organized society and will not allow itself to be deceived. He stressed that the political struggle for the democratic rights of the Kurds will also continue with greater strength.

Emphasizing Öcalan's role in starting the process

Referring to Abdullah Öcalan's call for peace and a democratic society on February 27, 2025, Bakrhan described his role in shaping the current stage as "foundational".

He said Öcalan's efforts to resolve the issue within Turkey should be evaluated fairly and without prejudice.

The DAP co-chair also appreciated the role of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmus and National Movement Party leader Devlet Bahçeli in advancing the process.At the end of his speech, he thanked Özgür Özel, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, Mahmut Arikan, Ali Babacan, Ahmet Davutoğlu and other party leaders and representatives who supported the bill.

Fire cannot be extinguished with fire

Using the Kurdish proverb “Agir bi agir venamire”; meaning “Fire cannot be extinguished with fire,” Bekkerhan said: The experience of 50 years of conflict, from Şırnak to Tekirdag, has shown that any order that is built on the defeat of one side will have the seeds of the next conflict.

According to him, the criterion for success in resolving the conflict is that every identity, belief and social group can consider itself a genuine and equal citizen in the country.

Addressing the families who lost their children in the conflicts, Bekkerhan said that the greatest respect for the memory of the deceased is to prevent the death and injury of other children: “We do not compare pains with each other.Every suffering, from Sirnak to Tekirdağ, is the pain of all of us.”

Call for Democratic Reforms to Begin in October

Bakirkhan said the framework law is only the first step and that for it to be meaningful, a series of democratic reforms must be put on the agenda after the opening of parliament in October.

He emphasized that the text of the law faces shortcomings in the areas of mother tongue, equal citizenship, local democracy and other democratic rights: “We neither blindly sanctify this text nor set aside it because of its shortcomings. We recognize its value and openly state its shortcomings.”

According to him, the absence of issues such as mother tongue, equal citizenship and local democracy in the law does not mean that they have been forgotten and these demands are considered inevitable elements of the peace process.Bakrhan added that the first step should be to enable the transition from conflict to the arena of rights and democratic political struggle, and in the second stage, laws related to freedoms, equality, the rule of law and “democratic integration” should be passed.

He called for the start of a process that includes Kurds, Alevis, women, workers and all disadvantaged and discriminated groups.

Peace is the achievement of 86 million citizens

The co-chair of the Dem Party said that Turkey must move beyond the polarized atmosphere in which political and identity groups consider each other a threat to their existence, and reach a stage of dialogue, cooperation and justice: “We must move from conflict to peace, from polarization to solidarity, and from separation to coexistence and negotiation. A peaceful and democratic military society is the achievement of all 86 million citizens.»

Bakrkhan said that resolving the Kurdish issue and rebuilding Kurdish-Turkish relations based on democracy and equality will affect not only Turkey but the entire region.

He added that developments in Iraq, Syria, Iran and the Eastern Mediterranean have made the Kurdish situation one of the important factors in the new equations of the Middle East, and establishing an equal and democratic relationship between Kurds and Turks can help strengthen the security and stability of the region.

From the cost of conflict to investing in life

Referring to the economic costs of the conflicts, Bakrkhan claimed that about $50 billion has been spent annually on the conflict; resources that in peace conditions could be allocated to education, health, production, development of deprived areas and improvement of the lives of citizens.

He said: “Those who paid the cost of the conflict were the poor most of all; but the fruits of peace will reach children, youth, pensioners, workers and all people."He who sows peace, reaps life."

Bakr Khan concluded by expressing hope that the passage of this law would be the first seal on a future in which weapons would no longer speak: "This peace must be lasting and our common and equal life must be sustainable."