The Turkish-Kurdish peace process remains fragile due to risks of stalled progress on disarmament, the lingering threat of a major terrorist attack and potential government reversals on pro-Kurdish concessions, as the ruling party tries to balance political constraints with efforts to enable President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to run for re-election. On Aug. 5, the Turkish parliamentary committee overseeing the Turkish-Kurdish peace process held its inaugural meeting. This committee, comprising 51 members from nearly all political parties in the Turkish National Assembly, is tasked with overseeing the disarmament of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and proposing legal and political reforms to advance the peace process. Imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan called for the establishment of this committee to oversee the disarmament and disbandment process on July 9, just days before 30 PKK fighters voluntarily relinquished their weapons in a symbolic ceremony in Kurdistan in northern Iraq. Although the preliminary meeting did...
