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President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday said Türkiye is on the brink of a new era, declaring that the government’s “Century of Türkiye” vision is rapidly becoming reality as progress accelerates in efforts to end terrorism.
“A new era is dawning for our country. Step by step, we are turning our vision of the Century of Türkiye into reality,” Erdogan said at the ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AK Party) 32nd Consultation and Evaluation Meeting in Ankara.
The two-day meeting addressed key topics such as foreign policy, national security, and economic reforms. Erdogan said one of the most critical agenda items was the “Terror-Free Türkiye” process, which aims to permanently eliminate terrorism.
Erdogan cited the recent disarmament of a PKK faction in northern Iraq as a major milestone. On July 11, 30 terrorists—15 of them women—destroyed their weapons by throwing them into a large burning cauldron in Sulaymaniyah province.
The group’s disarmament follows a May declaration by the PKK to lay down arms, in line with a February call by jailed PKK ringleader Abdullah Ocalan, who urged the organization and its affiliates to end their decades-long armed campaign.
“We are on the verge of completely freeing our nation from the shackles of terrorism that were imposed upon it 47 years ago,” Erdogan said. “We have already begun to see concrete signs of this.”
In its 40-year campaign, the PKK—designated a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the United States, and the European Union—has been responsible for the deaths of more than 40,000 people, including women and children.
Erdogan urged all political parties in parliament to support the process in good faith, warning against undermining the effort for political gain.
“No one has the right to sabotage this process for petty political interests,” he said. “In life and politics, many things can be compensated for, but there is no making up for obstructing an issue this critical, one that affects the unity and stability of 86 million citizens.”
The president emphasized that every step taken by the government is guided by national sensitivity, especially toward the families of martyrs and veterans.
Erdogan stressed that the responsibility for this new era lies not just with the ruling AK Party and its allies—the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and Democracy and Progress Party (DEVA)—but with the entire political spectrum.
He said the disarmament process is being monitored on the ground by the Turkish Armed Forces and National Intelligence Organization.
“We are aware of whom and which power centers we are fighting against. Our counterparts are not just the puppets but the puppeteers who operate them,” Erdogan said. “They will not succeed in preventing this country from breaking free of terrorism’s grip.”
He added that the economic cost of separatist terrorism over the past half-century has reached approximately $2 trillion.
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