MHP's response to Erbakan: The first person to send a letter to Öcalan was Necmettin Erbakan

While discussions were ongoing regarding the commission's meeting with PKK leader Öcalan, Fatih Erbakan, Chairman of the Yeni Welfare Party, had said, "Since Öcalan cannot come to Parliament, then Mr. Bahçeli, who invited him to Parliament, should go to İmralı to see him. Then he should come and inform the commission himself." The response to Erbakan's words came from MHP member Yücel Bulut.

Bulut stated that this call was unfounded and said:

"Mr. Fatih Erbakan! I condemn your irresponsible and low-quality tone targeting our party leader, Mr. Devlet Bahçeli.

You, the person who possessed no "political qualification" other than carrying the esteemed surname of your late father, Necmettin Erbakan, and who therefore "RE-established" your father's party, must know that the late Erbakan wholeheartedly desired a solution to the problem of terrorism and the construction of a Terror-Free Türkiye. He took serious risks in this regard during his time as Prime Minister, but his short tenure and the attempts to establish global domination over him prevented him from solving the problem of terrorism, and he was removed from power by the February 28 coup attempt.

So much so that, even in 1993, in his opening speech at the Welfare Party's 4th Grand Congress, he addressed the Kurdish issue, stating: "I ask you, after living as one for centuries, what happened that led to this hostility? Why is this bloodshed? Every possible solution to the Kurdish issue can be discussed. In fact, one of the reasons why the issue has become so intractable is that it has been excluded from all discussions, like a taboo. For these reasons, the fight against terrorism should not be considered solely as a military operation. This issue must be addressed as a multi-elemental and comprehensive whole that will eliminate its source and causes." In later years, he sent İsmail Nacar to HADEP Chairman Murat Bozlak, who was imprisoned, and urged HADEP to take responsibility for "the peaceful resolution of the problem."

"THE LATE NECMETTİN ERBAKAN WAS THE FIRST ONE TO SEND A LETTER TO ÖCALAN"

Furthermore, as has now been established, the late Necmettin Erbakan was perhaps the first person to send a letter to Abdullah Öcalan, and it is known that he sent three letters in total. While the exact content of these letters is unknown, it is known that they contained demands for an END TO TERROR and a call for a democratic solution. Letters from Öcalan to him are also known to exist, one of which appeared in the press as an open letter. Numerous sources also state that he held meetings through intermediaries. Your late father, an undisputed patriot, conducted these indirect meetings with Öcalan not out of weakness, incompetence, or compromising, but with the vision of a forward-looking statesman and the yearning and determination to achieve a Terror-Free Turkey.

He recalled the meeting at the PKK camps.

He believed in the ideal of a country where terrorism had ended and Türkiye's resources and energy were not squandered by internal conflict, and he acted not out of ego, but out of reason as a statesman. Moreover, Fethullah Erbaş, a Welfare Party MP at the time, went to PKK camps, was met by Murat Karayılan, and negotiated the surrender of soldiers held by the PKK. This negotiation, which was criticized at the time, saved the lives of eight of our soldiers and led to their reunification with their families. The fact that a member of parliament from your father's party went to PKK camps for meetings and held radio conversations with Öcalan, who was in Damascus at the time, could not have occurred without the knowledge of the late Welfare Party Chairman Necmettin Erbakan.

However, you, the person who founded the "Re-Welfare Party," are now attempting to create a platform for political exploitation by inheriting the principles and ideological legacy of the "Old" Welfare Party for populist gains. This mentality demonstrates that you desire a momentary political opportunity over your father's innate nature; that instead of making the sacrifices necessary to build a peaceful future, you choose hypocrisy for the sake of a few social media likes and cheap interaction.

Your stance, which now denies your past and treats the ideal of a Terror-Free Turkey as negotiating with terrorism for the sake of political populism, is an irresponsible statement against our nation and an unjust and baseless accusation against our Leader, Mr. Devlet Bahçeli, and our cadres. I commemorate with mercy your father, who paid a heavy price for the unity and well-being of the nation and who gave up every worldly position rather than cause fratricide.

Source: News Center