ANKARA - As the General Assembly continues debating the articles of the “Law on Strengthening National Solidarity and Social Integration,” DEM Party MPs described the bill as a historic step and stressed that peace must be built on equality, freedom and coexistence. The debate on the first four articles was completed, while proceedings were suspended after İYİ Party Bursa MP Yüksel Selçuk Türkoğlu took over the podium during the debate on Article 5.

 

The debate on the articles of the “Law on Strengthening National Solidarity and Social Integration,” prepared as part of the Peace and Democratic Society Process, continued in the General Assembly. Following answers from Cüneyt Yüksel, chair of Parliament’s Justice Committee, to MPs’ questions, amendment motions submitted by the İYİ Party and the New Path Group were rejected.

 

After the first four articles were debated, İYİ Parti Bursa MP Selçuk Türkoğlu took the floor to speak against Article 5. Following his speech, he took over the podium, prompting the session to be suspended.

 

‘THE DOOR TO PEACE HAS BEEN OPENED’

 

Speaking on Article 1, DEM Party Bêdlîs MP Semra Çağlar Gökalp said peace itself was a path forward. She said: “We are taking a historic step to end decades of conflict, rooted in a deadlock imposed on the peoples of the Middle East a century ago, and to establish lasting peace on a legal foundation. Replacing weapons with law and conflict with democratic politics will be a shared gain not only for the Kurdish people but for all peoples. Enabling people to return to their countries safely, participate freely in social life and shape their future through democratic politics is not anyone’s defeat; it is a gain for everyone.

This law will not resolve all the problems on its own. It will, however, pave the way for bringing the Kurdish issue, which has been kept outside the legal order for a century, into a democratic framework based on the rule of law. The door to peace has been opened. It is our shared responsibility to open that door fully to equality, freedom and a common future.”

 

‘WE ARE NOT VOTING ON JUST ONE LAW’

 

DEM Party Colêmerg MP Öznur Bartın, who spoke next, said the General Assembly was not merely debating a bill and continued: “Today, we stand on the threshold of a new era in which years of accumulated suffering could come to an end and mothers’ tears could finally cease. History has shown us that no conflict lasts forever. But lasting peace is possible not simply when the guns fall silent, but when all sections of society feel equal and free. We have a historic opportunity before us. Rather than allowing the pain of the past to determine the future, we must turn it into the beginning of a new era. Peace does not mean erasing our differences; it means being able to live together as equals and in freedom despite those differences.”