It was decided to establish 4 subcommittees to monitor the Terror-Free Türkiye process and coordinate the work being carried out. The decision was taken at the first meeting of the Monitoring and Evaluation Council, held Monday at the Presidential Complex in Ankara under the chairmanship of Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz.
The meeting was attended by Justice Minister Akın Gürlek, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Interior Minister Mustafa Çiftçi, National Defense Minister Yaşar Güler, National Intelligence Organization Director İbrahim Kalın, Secretary-General of the Presidency Haki Susmaz and Secretary-General of the National Security Council Okay Memiş.
Four working committees established
The council’s first meeting addressed the high-level coordination of the work of all state institutions involved in the process. Steps concerning the council’s working procedures and principles were also evaluated.
- Subcommittee on judicial and legal affairs
- Subcommittee on monitoring and oversight
- Subcommittee on social consensus and integration
- Subcommittee on disarmament and strategic coordination
State institutions will continue taking steps related to the process in full coordination. The process is being carried out with the aims of freeing Türkiye and the region from terrorism, removing violence and weapons completely from the agenda, and strengthening an environment of brotherhood.
Legal basis is Law No. 7595
The legal basis of the Terror-Free Türkiye process is the Law on Strengthening National Solidarity and Social Integration, adopted by the General Assembly of the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye on August 10 and published in the Official Gazette on August 18.
The law regulates procedures concerning the postponement of ongoing investigations and prosecutions against members of the PKK terrorist organization, as well as the enforcement of convictions. The implementation of these provisions is conditional on determining that the organization and affiliated entities have ended their de facto existence and on the surrender of all weapons and ammunition in their possession.
Five-year postponement for investigations and prosecutions
Under the law, investigations and prosecutions may be postponed for 5 years if the maximum prison sentence prescribed for the offenses within its scope does not exceed 15 years.
Intentional homicide committed as part of the organization’s activities, as well as offenses committed before June 1, 2005, that carry a life imprisonment sentence, are excluded from the regulation.
