Turkey must move beyond decades of violence and build a unified, peaceful future, Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş said on Monday in Kurdish majority city Şırnak (Şirnex), warning against the dangers of foreign-driven fragmentation in the region.
Speaking at an event marking the national Commemoration of Atatürk, Youth and Sports Day, Kurtulmuş declared, “Turkey has lost years to terror, as a result of an imperialist project. Now, we must build a Turkey free of terror.”
Referring to the more than 40,000 lives lost in armed conflicts, mainly with Kurdish insurgents since the 1980s, Kurtulmuş insisted the country’s future depends on solidarity between all ethnic groups. “We will move forward together — Turks, Kurds and all other identities — to build a stronger Turkey,” he said.
Kurtulmuş framed Turkey’s choices starkly, arguing that it could either fall victim to the same fate as other fractured Middle Eastern nations — like Iraq, Syria, and Libya — or unite against foreign intervention. “The region has been torn apart through ethnic, sectarian, and tribal divisions — often imposed from outside. We chose not to wait for our turn to be destroyed,” he said.
Acknowledging potential provocations, Kurtulmuş said the government would take “all necessary precautions” to prevent attempts to derail unity. “We know there are those who want to poison this process. But we are determined to build a country where no bombs explode, no one fears for their life, and songs of peace echo across every corner.”
He concluded with a call for hope: “Together, we will witness a future where our goals are clear, and our path is open.”
