Kurtulmuş: PKK must lay down not just weapons but also 'the guns in their minds'
RastinewsParliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş took questions from reporters aboard a plane ahead of an official visit to Portugal.
Asked about the disarmament process, Kurtulmuş said the group must quickly show it has laid down its weapons, and that this needs to be detected and confirmed. "More important than that," Kurtulmuş said, "is that they lay down the weapons in their minds, so we can start a process where there are no more guns, only words."
"The new period calls for a new language"
Kurtulmuş said the success of the process also requires a change in public discourse.
"Everyone needs to stop using separatist language, and certain circles need to stop using discriminatory language too. The new period undoubtedly calls for a new language," Kurtulmuş said.
Kurtulmuş stressed there would be no compromise on "Turkey without terrorism," and that those "trying to sabotage" the process would lose.
Monitoring Committee will not operate in the field
Asked about the timeline for the Monitoring Committee to be set up in parliament, Kurtulmuş said the "consultative method" used to establish the National Solidarity, Brotherhood and Democracy Committee would be applied here as well.
Kurtulmuş said all parties with a parliamentary group would be represented on the committee, and that parliament would follow the process as a "third eye."
Asked whether the committee would work in the field, Kurtulmuş said: "No. Monitoring what happens on the ground is the duty and responsibility of the state's official security councils."
Kurtulmuş added that the committee would stay in contact with the board chaired by Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz, and would take over managing the process if legislation becomes necessary.
Responding to criticism of moving too slowly
Reminded of criticism that politics is dragging its feet on the process, Kurtulmuş noted that the motion on the process was approved in parliament by 467 votes.
"I believe all the criticism along the lines of 'they're undecided, they're stretching this out' is made in bad faith. Everything is proceeding exactly on schedule," Kurtulmuş said.
PJAK and the "Terror-Free Region"
Asked a question, Kurtulmuş said PJAK, which operates in East Kurdistan, has also "ceased to be a risk" for Turkey.
Kurtulmuş said that if armed groups in Iraq are integrated into the state quickly, a "Terror-Free Region" could begin to take shape beyond "Terror-Free Turkey," and said there were "provocative elements," chiefly Israel.
"Words are cheap, anyone can say them. If what is said isn't matched by action, it doesn't mean anything," Kurtulmuş said.
The remarks came on the day the National Solidarity and Integration Coordination Board, which is responsible for detecting and confirming disarmament, held its second meeting under the chairmanship of Cevdet Yılmaz.
Process began with a February 2025 call
Abdullah Öcalan called on the PKK from İmralı on Feb. 27, 2025, to lay down its arms and dissolve itself.
The PKK announced its dissolution following a congress held in May 2025, and in July 2025 a group of militants burned their weapons at a ceremony held near Sulaymaniyah.
In parliament, the National Solidarity, Brotherhood and Democracy Committee was established in August 2025 to prepare the legal framework for the process.