TURKEY: Öcalan’s Message & more – 9th Dec 2025

Merhaba from BA! This is the Rorshok Turkey Update from the 9th of December twenty twenty-five. A quick summary of what's going down in Turkey.

On Saturday the 6th, Abdullah Öcalan, the imprisoned founder of the Kurdistan Workers' Party or PKK, sent a message to an international peace conference held in Istanbul, via the Peoples' Equality and Democracy or DEM Party members.

In the message, Öcalan called for the PKK to end its armed struggle and focus on building a democratic Turkey where all groups share power equally. He praised the government's role in talks and urged reforms like a peace law. Global leaders at the event, including Nobel winners, saw it as a key step to end forty years of conflict that killed over 40,000 people.

Many question if Turkey will deliver real change. Among most Turks, the message stirs mixed feelings: cautious hope for lasting peace outweighs deep distrust from past failed talks, with many favoring dialogue if it ensures security.

Speaking of Öcalan, on Monday the 8th, in an essay by Adem Yavuz Arslan on Turkish Minute, the writer explored whether the renewed focus on Abdullah Öcalan signals a real peace step or a political calculation.

The Parliament recently released a brief, state-filtered summary of a new meeting with Öcalan. According to the author, the summary echoed Öcalan’s older calls for a democratic nation within Turkey. What changed was the government’s framing. President Erdoğan and his nationalist partners now promote the idea that the PKK is dissolving itself. Critics say this narrative appears timed to secure political advantages, suggesting the move resembles strategic power management more than a revived peace effort.

Check out the article in English with the link in the show notes!

Back in late November, Masoud Barzani, the leader of Iraq’s Kurdistan Democratic Party, attended a poetry event in Turkey’s southeastern city of Şırnak. Footage showed his guards in uniform carrying rifles, and last week, the images triggered outrage across the country.

Nationalist groups said an armed escort for someone without an official title crossed a line on sovereignty. Devlet Bahçeli, the leader of the Nationalist Movement Party or MHP, called it a disgrace and demanded an explanation. Barzani’s office, on the other hand, said the security detail followed routine protocol and accused critics of overreacting. President Erdoğan also asked for an apology.

Many Turks saw the moment as a warning about border security, with surveys showing around 70% view armed foreign escorts as a threat to national pride.

In other international news, on Monday the 8th, news outlet EurActiv reported that the European Commission pulled an annual children’s brochure called Let’s Explore Europe! after Greece objected to a map that showed several eastern Aegean and Dodecanese islands in the same color as Turkey, implying they were Turkish. Greece reacted immediately and sent a formal complaint, since the map touched on long-running disputes with Turkey about maritime zones and sovereignty in the region.

A Commission spokesperson described the issue as an unfortunate technical mistake and said they removed the brochure from every online platform while teams prepare a corrected version. Officials also promised a review of internal steps to avoid similar problems.

On Wednesday the 3rd, Özgür Özel, the leader of the Republican People’s Party or CHP, told party members they should avoid developing Stockholm syndrome — meaning warning the citizens against trusting former oppressors. However, many interpreted it as a jab at the DEM party and its recent peace efforts with the government and the PKK. Tülay Hatimoğulları, the DEM co-chair known for defending Kurdish rights, said Özel’s remark created a breakdown that harmed unity.

President Erdoğan stepped in and mocked the CHP’s own record on minority issues, such as restrictions on hijabi women. Özel later clarified that he meant the ruling bloc, including the Justice and Development Party or AKP and MHP, and regretted the confusion.

More about Özel, as on Tuesday the 9th, he criticized the country’s tax structure during the budget debates. He said the budget relies almost entirely on tax revenue and highlighted that most of it comes from indirect taxes taken equally from wealthy and low-income households. He argued that Turkey ranks first in Europe for tax unfairness, with high rates on basic utilities and everyday items, while luxury goods like diamonds face no special tax.

Özel added that citizens will pay significant new taxes in the coming year and described cars as rolling tax offices, noting that a mid-range vehicle can carry more tax than its base price.

On Thursday the 4th, Alparslan Bayraktar, the Energy Minister, demanded caution after Ukrainian drones hit Russian-linked tankers off the Black Sea coast. The attacks damaged two empty vessels and another one carrying sunflower oil, risking spills and trade disruptions. Bayraktar called for protecting pipelines and ports, as Turkey relies on the sea for half its energy. He also pushed for de-escalation to avoid price spikes for families.

A Turkish firm paused Russian port runs due to risks. Fishermen reported debris near shores, adding to daily fears. Many worry that these strikes could jack up fuel and food costs, urging stronger naval defenses to shield the vital route.

Annual inflation dropped to almost 31% in November, the lowest level in four years, according to official data. Mehmet Şimşek, the Finance Minister, said prices eased mainly in food and housing, while transport and education continued to rise. After months of lira turmoil, shoppers finally saw slight relief on basic items such as bread.

The Central Bank is considering future interest-rate cuts to support jobs, but it also warns that global conditions could push prices back up. Şimşek says the goal is to bring inflation down to single digits by twenty twenty-six through steady economic policies.

Markets reacted positively to the latest numbers, but families are still careful with their spending. Polls suggest that people view the slowdown as a step toward recovery, even if they haven’t felt any real relief in their living costs yet.

On Friday the 5th, police arrested thirty-five suspects in a football match-fixing incident, including twenty-seven players who bet on their own games. Galatasaray's Metehan Baltacı, already banned for nine months, and Fenerbahçe's Mert Hakan Yandaş faced charges, alongside club chairs like Ankaraspor's and Adana Demirspor's ex-heads. Prosecutors linked 150 referees to the scheme too.

The Turkish Football Federation chief promised reforms to rebuild trust. Fans, long suspicious of rigged calls, now question league integrity. Meanwhile, lower divisions paused games.

On Wednesday the 3rd, lawmakers debated a judicial package, which aims to shorten jail terms for low-risk offenders while keeping all terrorism-related crimes fully excluded. After nearly ten hours of discussion, the Justice Committee approved the early release for non-violent inmates. The bill is now set to come before parliament for debate, as prisons struggle with close to three hundred thousand inmates and severe overcrowding.

Critics argued the proposal could create loopholes that might free as many as fifty-five thousand people, including individuals they view as dangerous, while families of victims called for a careful balance.

Public opinion is divided. Some support easing pressure on prisons in the name of fairness, while others fear the changes could weaken justice for serious offenses.

On Monday the 8th, the BirGün news outlet reported that the state has opened most of İstanbul’s former military land to construction over the past nineteen years. Data from the İstanbul Municipality show that the city once had over 283,000 hectares of military zones, but over 40% have since been reclassified. Of that land, the state approved 90% for construction, and 85% now hosts large housing or mixed-use projects.

The shift reportedly accelerated after the twenty sixteen coup attempt, when officials had promised these emptied areas would become green spaces. Critics say major central parcels instead turned into luxury real estate, calling the rezoning a major urban wrongdoing.

And to close this edition, a new courtroom complex is under construction inside the Marmara Penitentiary Campus in İstanbul. The main hall will be one of the largest in the country, with room for about two thousand three hundred people.

According to the Sabah newspaper, the project began after the Bakırköy Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office reported the need for a larger hall. The design includes space for hundreds of defendants, over one thousand lawyers, and tight security with underground transfer tunnels. Completion is expected within the first half of twenty twenty-six.

Aaand that’s it for this week! Thank you for joining us!

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