CHP leader Özel: A coup plotter who strikes against his successor with dreams of Salafism cannot solve the Kurdish issue.

The target of the CHP leader was the President. Özel stated that the government could not "solve the Kurdish issue."

Republican People's Party (CHP) Chairman Özgür Özel, in a speech at a rally held in Şişli district of Istanbul on Wednesday, described President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan as "a coup plotter who strikes at his successor with Salafist dreams" and criticized the government's process with the Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), referred to as "Terror-Free Turkey." Özel added, "An understanding that has Salafist dreams, wants to remain like a sultan instead of going to the ballot box, and wants to be a caliph cannot do this. This is done by democrats." Salafism is an extremist understanding considered within Sunni Islam, particularly associated with militant groups like Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

Özel also mentioned the CHP mayors who were removed from their positions due to the "urban reconciliation," stating that the government refers to Kurdish voters who support them as "acceptable Kurds" and those who do not as "terrorists." Özel questioned, "These people claim they will solve the Kurdish issue in Turkey, they claim they will bring peace to Turkey. Can there be a solution with this insincerity and hypocrisy, you frauds? Will there be a solution?" The "Terror-Free Turkey" process is also referred to in the public and media as the "Imrali process" and the "second resolution process." According to the prosecutor's office, urban reconciliation involves "including the Kurdish population in local administrations with a system similar to autonomy in western provinces."

Urban reconciliation is actually not a new concept. As part of a terrorism investigation initiated by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office citing "urban reconciliation," ten municipal officials were detained on Tuesday, February 11, and were arrested on Thursday, February 13. Among those arrested were CHP deputy mayors C.Y and L.G from Kartal and Ataşehir, as well as municipal council members B.K from Üsküdar, E.G. from Sancaktepe, G.A from Fatih, H.Ö. from Tuzla, N.A. from Adalar, S.G. from Şişli, and T.Ş. from Beyoğlu. The prosecutor's office describes the "urban reconciliation" it refers to in this terrorism investigation as "a formula to be applied in some areas of the democratic autonomy system." This definition claims that "the theory of the urban reconciliation formula was also created by the management of the terrorist organization."

According to the prosecutor's office, the urban reconciliation formula was created within the framework of "planning to establish an autonomy system by gaining local administrations in eastern provinces, while including the Kurdish population in local administrations with a system similar to autonomy in western provinces." In a statement made a month ago, the prosecutor's office indicated that the "urban reconciliation formula" aims for "Kurdish people in western provinces and districts to have a say in municipal council decisions, to be present in local governments, and to create a political balance through candidates who will be negotiated and supported, even if they cannot win the municipalities."

Urban reconciliation was the local election strategy of the DEM Party. The Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) announced the "Urban Reconciliation" strategy at a Party Council meeting held in December 2023, where decisions were made regarding the local elections to be held in March 2024. The "Urban Reconciliation" strategy was one of the ten decision items taken at the Party Council meeting. Following the announcement of this strategy, the DEM Party claimed that the trustees assigned to municipalities would be reclaimed, stating, "In addition, we will win the elections of many municipalities where we have not previously been in the administration and save the people from corruption, rent networks, and those who deny our identity. We will advance towards our goal by establishing various collaborations and power alliances with our party name."

In the fifth item of the declaration announced at the end of the meeting, it was stated, "In western Turkey, we see it as a priority to create a ground for Urban Reconciliation, where we will consult, negotiate, walk together, and weave a common struggle with all institutions, organizations, workers, laborers, ecologists, women, youth, peoples, and faith organizations, political parties, labor and professional organizations, democratic and conscientious citizens, and all social parties and political actors that encompass the social and political dynamics that create and sustain the city."

In January 2024, DEM Party's then Co-Spokesperson for Election Affairs İlknur Birol expressed urban reconciliation as "a model of living and governing together" in an interview with JINNEWS. In this interview, Birol stated that the process of determining the administrators should also be realized according to the idea of urban reconciliation. Birol continued her words as follows: "During this election period, creating a governing community based on this main idea, approaching with a perspective where society can participate together in the smallest unit, and where the idea of governing together can be updated once again, is a distinctive aspect that we opened up for discussion in contrast to the approach of the ruling party and mainstream opposition towards local government elections. Collaborative candidacies arising from a common ground become a totality of candidacies capable of encompassing almost all social segments. This is what we are trying to open up for discussion."

Birol, explaining the principles advocated by urban reconciliation, stated, "From where we stand, as a necessity of being communal and popular, there will be no racism or sexism. The principle of justice will also encompass these principles. It will pervade all cells of the city. We said let's go to the elections with reconciliation grounds where the political and social dynamics in that neighborhood can find themselves, where they can see themselves in a popular way, and where they can negotiate together."

The arrest of CHP's Esenyurt Mayor Özer and the CHP - DEM Party collaboration allegation. This urban reconciliation strategy was alleged to be a local election collaboration between the Republican People's Party (CHP) and the DEM Party. These allegations deepened after CHP's Esenyurt Mayor Ahmet Özer was taken into custody and arrested on charges of "membership in a terrorist organization." Özer was allegedly in contact with leaders of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). In the investigation conducted by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office's Terror and Organized Crimes Investigation Bureau to identify the members and activities of the PKK/KCK, it was noted that Özer "committed the alleged crime by establishing an organic connection with organization leaders through communication interception measures, physical surveillance records, bank account movements, and establishing a strong and continuous connection."

The CHP had initially announced that Ali Gökmen, whom they nominated for the Esenyurt Municipality elections, withdrew from the race due to "health problems," and that Ahmet Özer was nominated instead. In February 2024, a DEM Party official expressed their discomfort with CHP's preferences in some districts of Istanbul to VOA Turkish. The DEM Party official stated, "Especially the candidate preferences in Esenyurt and Adalar cannot be evaluated within the framework of the 'urban reconciliation' concept emphasized by both Mr. İmamoğlu and us. Despite the statements made by our Co-Chair, the preference for the Mayor of Antalya was made. Additionally, we had no discomfort with Tunç Soyer."

The solution process in Turkey refers to the negotiations that took place between the PKK and the Turkish state between 2013 and 2015. This process was initiated with the aim of solving the Kurdish issue through peaceful means. Key elements of the process included disarmament, democratic reforms, and the expansion of rights regarding Kurdish identity. PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan played a key role in these negotiations. However, with the resumption of conflicts in 2015, the solution process effectively came to an end. This period caused significant changes in the political dynamics in Turkey.

The PKK, founded on November 28, 1978, in the Lice district of Diyarbakır, is recognized as a terrorist organization by the European Union, the United States (US), the United Kingdom, France, Turkey, and many other states. PKK militants have killed nearly 15,000 people in attacks they have carried out for nearly 40 years, according to official figures. PKK leader Öcalan has been held in İmralı Prison in the Sea of Marmara since 1999, sentenced to life imprisonment for founding and managing a terrorist organization.