Democracy Toplum Partisi

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Democracy Toplum Partisi
(DTP)
Partiya Civaka Demokratîk
The DTP logo
Party leader Ahmet Türk and Emine Ayna
founding 2005 by Orhan Doğan , Hatip Dicle , Selim Sadak
resolution December 2009
International connections Socialist International (observer)
European party Party of European Socialists (associated)
Website www.dtp.org.tr archive.org

The Democracy Toplum Partisi ( Kurdish Partiya Civaka Demokratîk, German  party of the democratic society ), DTP , was a political party in the Republic of Turkey . The DTP described itself as a party that campaigns for national recognition of the Kurds . It was founded on October 24, 2005 and banned on December 11, 2009 - due to its connections and proximity to the terrorist organization PKK - by a decision of the constitutional court .

history

The DTP emerged from the movement for a democratic society (Demokratik Toplum Hareketi, DTH) . When the party was founded, leading Kurdish politicians in Turkey joined forces, including Leyla Zana , Orhan Doğan and Ahmet Türk , previously a member of the CHP . The DTP had observer status in the Socialist International .

Ahmet Türk was elected chairman of the party in the summer of 2006, but resigned from the party before the 2007 parliamentary elections in order to participate in the elections as an independent candidate (to circumvent the 10% threshold clause for parties in force in Turkey ) to re-enter. His successor was Nurettin Demirtaş , the brother of Selahattin Demirtaş . Nurettin Demirtaş was charged in 2007 with a forged certificate of unfit for military service. He then had to do his military service and therefore resigned from the chair. Since July 20, 2008, Ahmet Türk was again chairman of the party. At a special party conference of the DTP on October 4, 2009 in Ankara , Ahmet Turk was confirmed as chairman with 651 of 654 votes. The special party conference became necessary because 54 of the 80 members of the DTP party council were arrested for alleged membership in the PKK .

The DTP was represented by 21 members in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (as of July 28, 2008).

Election results

Parliamentary elections 2007

For the parliamentary elections in 2007 , the DTP decided at a congress in May 2007 to put up independent candidates in order to circumvent the 10% blocking clause . Part of the electoral strategy was not to allow incumbent mayors to run for office. Their election slogan was Bin Umut ( A Thousand Hopes ). 66 candidates were nominated by her. The DTP reached 20 seats in parliament and formed a parliamentary group.

Local elections 2009

On March 29, 2009, the DTP took part in the Turkish local elections and was able to almost double the number of its mayors who administer municipalities and cities: If the previous party of the DTP had 56 mayors after the local elections in 2004 , this number rose after the this year's local elections to 99. In the east and south-east of the country, the DTP received the vast majority of the vote. The provincial administrations Van , Batman and Siirt , which were previously under the leadership of the ruling AKP party, went (back) to the DTP. In the province of Iğdır , which lies on the border with Armenia and was sometimes led by the Turkish nationalist party MHP , to the surprise of many, the DTP won, which had put up a candidate for the local elections there for the first time.

Activities of the DTP

On January 13, 2007, Turkish and Kurdish intellectuals, politicians and human rights activists held a multi-day meeting entitled Türkiye Barışını Arıyor Konferansı (Turkish for Turkey Seeks Its Peace Conference ), which was also attended by representatives of the DTP. The DTP is also a co-founder of the Türkiye Barış Meclisi (TBM) ( Peace Council of Turkey ), which was founded on September 1, 2007.

On October 15, 2007, the DTP voted (with 19 votes) as the only party in the Turkish parliament against a possible intervention by the Turkish military in northern Iraq.

On November 8, 2007, the DTP published a roadmap that was drawn up by the 500 delegates of the Toplum Democracy Congress and contains proposals for a democratic solution to the Kurdish question .

As a protest against the military operations of the Turkish army in northern Iraq, the DTP organized a march on February 4-6, 2008 in the province of Şırnak . DTP chairmen and members from several provinces gathered in Istanbul , from where they took buses to Diyarbakır and then to Şırnak. Demonstrations for a peaceful solution to the Kurdish question were held in both provinces. Thousands then marched with them into the mountain regions affected by the military operations in order to demonstrate against the operation until late at night. Tents were pitched for the evening, in which DTP chairmen and demonstrators spent the night. The event ended without incident.

On June 1, 2008, the Türkiye Baris Meclisi - including the DTP as an active member - organized a mass rally in Istanbul, Kadiköy, with the name It's enough: We want a democratic solution to the Kurdish question . Another major rally was held on August 31, 2008 in the name of World Day of Peace (September 1). Tens of thousands took part in both events and called for a democratic solution to the Kurdish question. Guest speakers were u. a. Member of the DTP.

Since September 2008, the DTP has been holding rallies in Kurdish and Turkish cities with the title It's enough: We want education in our mother tongue , where those involved - especially Kurdish children - demand education in their mother tongue. At some rallies, a sequence of outdoor Kurdish lessons was offered as a sample.

In 2007, Abdullah Öcalan raised the idea of ​​“democratic autonomy” ( Demokratie özerklik projesi ). Atatürk had once proposed autonomy for Kurds in order to secure the support of the Kurds in the liberation war . The DTP included the idea of ​​the project in its party program and published a booklet in October 2008 with the title “The DTP's Project for a Democratic Solution to the Kurdish Conflict ” ( DTP'nin Kürt Sorununa İlişkin Demokratik Çözüm Projesi ). The project envisages the establishment of 20 to 25 regional parliaments and the establishment of Kurdish as the language of education. The book was distributed to all MPs, ministers and diplomats by post.

Attitude to the PKK

DTP supporters celebrate Nouruz in İstanbul on March 19, 2009 with DTP and Öcalan flags.

Turkish media and politicians accuse the DTP of acting as an extension of the banned underground organization PKK and of obeying the orders of the imprisoned PKK chairman Abdullah Öcalan . The DTP refuses to call the PKK, which is classified as a terrorist organization by the European Union , the USA and Turkey, as a terrorist organization and instead calls for a dialogue between officials of Turkey and the PKK in order to enable an allegedly “peaceful solution” to the Kurdish question can.

Nurettin Demirtaş calls for a general amnesty for PKK fighters. He also speaks out against the call by Iraqi President Jalal Talabani , according to which the terrorist organization PKK must lay down its arms or leave the country. According to Demirtaş , this is a US plan .

The city administrations, under the leadership of the DTP, regularly support funeral and condolence ceremonies, which are organized by the local population for the relatives of PKK terrorists who have been killed.

Official statement

The representative of the DTP in Van Veysi Dilekçi said during a visit of the representative of the Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi (AKP) Mustafa Bilici on the conflict with the PKK:

“The PKK is a reality in the country, we have to accept that. We don't have an organizational connection to the PKK, but an emotional one. Because in this country live families whose relatives are militants (terrorists) of the PKK. Of course, these mothers, fathers and brothers have political opinions. If these people prefer the DTP, then we have a connection to the PKK. PKK militias are children of this country. The state must find a solution for this. Our party is kept under pressure and isolated. We demand that the government comment on the PKK's ceasefire offer and call for peace. "

Emine Ayna , co-chair of the DTP, said in an interview about the PKK that her party does not deny the PKK and does not see it as a terrorist organization. In another interview, she justifies this attitude as follows:

"If you (Turkey, EU and the USA) equate terror with a military struggle for rights, you should also have called northern Iraq's Kurdish parties that fought against Saddam as terrorists."

Prohibition Procedure

Kurdish ban for politicians

According to Art. 81 lit. c) of Law No. 2820, political parties may not use any language other than Turkish. On February 24, 2009, Ahmet Türk, chairman of the DTP, spoke in Kurdish during his parliamentary speech. The broadcast on the parliamentary channel was then stopped on the grounds that it was unconstitutional. Ahmet Türk, himself a Kurd, protested with the following words:

"If a state television program broadcasts in Kurdish and Prime Minister Erdoğan says Kurdish sentences during his election appearances in the south-east of the country, why are we not allowed to speak Kurdish?"

In 1991, the Kurdish MP Leyla Zana added a sentence in Kurdish to the Turkish-spoken form of oath in parliament: "I will work to ensure that the Kurdish and Turkish people can live together in a democratic framework." Zana was closed in 1994 for treason Sentenced for 15 years and released after ten years.

Processes

On December 17, 2007, the chairman of the DTP Nurettin Demirtaş was arrested for a forged certificate of unfit for military service. Demirtaş subsequently resigned and was sentenced to a year in prison six months later.

56 mayors of the DTP petitioned the Prime Minister of Denmark , Anders Fogh Rasmussen , not to close the television broadcaster Roj TV , which is alleged to be close to the Kurdish underground organization PKK. As a result, legal proceedings were initiated against the Kurdish mayor. A total of 53 of the accused mayors were fined in April 2008.

Abdullah Demirbaş, member of the DTP and Mayor of Sur (in Diyarbakır ), also offered municipal services in Kurdish and was removed from office by decision of the 8th Senate of the Turkish Administrative Court ( Danıştay ).

On March 20, 2008, the trial of DTP chairman Nurettin Demirtaş and the mayor of Dicle Abdullah Akengin began. In the indictment they were charged with propaganda for the PKK during a party event in November 2007.

Ban on party

On November 16, 2007, the General Prosecutor at the Court of Cassation , Abdurrahman Yalçınkaya , applied for a ban on DTP by the constitutional court responsible under Articles 98, 103 of Law No. 2820 .

The party was accused of violating the provisions of Art. 68 Para. 4 of the Constitution i. V. m. Art. 101 lit. a, b of Law No. 2820 to violate the standardized independence of the state and the indivisible unity of state territory and people and national sovereignty as well as the principles of the democratic and secular republic . As Art. 69 (6) demands, the party was a focus of such unconstitutional activities.

In addition, against 221 members, including eight members, a political ban according to Art. 69 para. 9 i. V. m. Art. 95 of Law No. 2820 requested. This means that in the event of a conviction for five years, these persons may " neither become a founder, nor a member, nor a member of the board of directors or the supervisory body of a party ".

Seven of the eleven full members of the Constitutional Court had to agree to the ban for it to become final. On December 11, 2009, Haşim Kılıç , President of the Constitutional Court, announced the unanimous closure of the party. The legal personality of the party ended on that day (cf. Art. 109 Para. 3 in conjunction with Art. 3 of Law No. 2820).

36 party members and one non-member, including Abdulkadir Fırat, Ahmet Ay, Ahmet Türk, Ali Bozan, Ayhan Karabulut, Aysel Tuğluk , Cemal Kuhak, Fettah Dadaş, Hatice Adıbelle, Hilmi Aydoğdu, İbrahim Sunkur, Metin Taşe, Orhan Miroğl Ağcı, Nurettin Demirtaş and Selim Sadak (Mayors of Siirt) have been banned from politics for five years from the publication of the judgment in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Turkey (Art. 95 p. 2 of Law No. 2820). Leyla Zana, who is not a member of the DTP, was also banned from politics, just as her statements were used to justify the judgment. Another policy ban was issued by the Constitutional Court to Abdullah İsnaç, who was supposed to be the leading cadre of the DTP Şirnak. İsnaç was a DTP member and employee of the Şirnak municipality, but never held a party office. In addition, Ahmet Türk and Aysel Tuğluk were stripped of their seats in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. The remaining 19 members of the DTP retain their mandate, increasing the number of independent members by 19.

At the end of December 2009, the former MPs of the DTP joined the BDP and founded a parliamentary group with the independent MP Mehmet Ufuk Uras .

Assaults

Because of popular resentment against the PKK, there were attacks on DTP party buildings. On October 3, 2007, the DTP party headquarters in Ankara were shot at. Nobody was injured and the perpetrator was arrested in the evening hours of the same day. Further armed attacks against party headquarters of the DTP followed (including in Istanbul and İskenderun ). The DTP published a press release on October 5th on the armed attacks. Selma Irmak expressed concern about the incidents and regretted that her party was being targeted by the media and the general public.

On April 27, 2008, the DTP organized an evening event in Sakarya Province entitled Peace and Fraternity . A group of around 100 Turkish nationalists tried to storm the hall. The celebrants were trapped in the hall for more than five hours, which is why eleven people developed circulatory problems. A man suffered a heart attack and died shortly after in hospital.

Less than a week later, on the night of May 6, 2008, strangers stormed the DTP party office in Izmir and set it on fire.

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ cnnturk.com: Ahmet Türk DTP Genel Başkanı seçildi. In: CNN Turk . Cable News Network LP, LLLP., July 20, 2008, accessed September 14, 2017 (Turkish).
  2. ↑ haberler.com: Democracy Toplum Parti, Sonuç Bildirgesini Açıkladı. Yeni Medya Elektronik Yayıncılık Ltd Şti, October 30, 2007, accessed September 14, 2017 (Turkish).
  3. ↑ Nick Brauns : [ Internet source: archiv-url invalid. Involvement of the PKK required. ] In: jungewelt.de. young world, October 6, 2009, archived from the original on October 10, 2009 ; accessed on September 14, 2017 (original download subject to charge).
  4. ↑ Grand National Assembly of Turkey : [ Internet source: archiv-url invalid distribution of members of the 23rd legislative period. ] In: Türkiye Büyük Millet Meclisi Milletvekilleri Dağılımı. 2008, archived from the original on August 4, 2008 ; Retrieved September 14, 2017 (Turkish).
  5. ↑ milliyet.com.tr: [ Internet source: archival url invalid DTP'nin destek vereceği bağımsız adaylar .. ] Milliyet Gazetecilik ve Yayıncılık A.Ş., June 5, 2007, archived from the original on June 7, 2007 ; Retrieved September 14, 2017 (Turkish).
  6. ↑ Turkey's high electoral committee : [ Internet source : archiv-url invalid Kesin adaylar. ] Final list of all candidates separated by provinces. Yüksek Seçim Kurulu, June 19, 2007, archived from the original on July 15, 2007 ; Retrieved September 14, 2017 (Turkish).
  7. ↑ SEÇIM2007.COM: [ Internet source: archiv-url invalid TÜRKIYE SONUÇLARI. ] In: Turkey 2007 election results. Türkiye'nin Tarafsız Seçim Portalı, archived from the original on October 23, 2007 ; Retrieved September 14, 2017 (Turkish).
  8. ↑ cnnturk.com: DTP Meclis'te grup başvurusunu yaptı. In: CNN Turk . Cable News Network LP, LLLP., July 30, 2007, accessed September 15, 2017 (Turkish).
  9. ↑ usakgundem.org: Seçim Sonrası Dtp'nin Belediye Sayısı. (No longer available online.) Formerly in the original ; Retrieved April 21, 2009 (Turkish).  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.usakgundem.com
  10. ↑ radikal.com.tr: DTP Güneydoğu'da ezdi geçti. In: Radical. Hürriyet Gazetecilik ve Matbaacılık A.Ş., January 13, 2009, accessed September 15, 2017 (Turkish).
  11. ↑ haberler.com: 'Türkiye Barışını Arıyor' Konferansı. Yeni Medya Elektronik Yayıncılık Ltd Şti, January 13, 2007, accessed September 15, 2017 (Turkish).
  12. ↑ bianet.org: Türkiye'nin Artık Barış Meclisi Var. In: İrfan aktan'in haberî. IPS Communication Foundation, September 3, 2007, accessed on September 15, 2017 (Turkish, German Turkey now has a peace council ).
  13. ↑ Jürgen Gottschlich : Turkish Parliament allows military strike in Northern Iraq. Fight against PKK extremists. In: SPIEGEL ONLINE. SPIEGELnet GmbH, October 17, 2007, accessed on September 15, 2017 .
  14. ↑ ntvmsnbc.com: DTP'lilerden operasyonlara karşı yürüyüş. (No longer available online.) NTVMSNBC, formerly in the original ; Retrieved February 9, 2008 (Turkish).  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.ntvmsnbc.com
  15. ↑ cnnturk.com: DTP'nin çadır eylemi olaysız sona erdi. In: CNN Turk . Cable News Network LP, LLLP., February 6, 2008, accessed September 15, 2017 (Turkish).
  16. ↑ milliyet.com.tr: Kadıköy'de barış mitingi. Milliyet Gazetecilik ve Yayıncılık A.Ş., September 1, 2008, archived from the original ; Retrieved September 15, 2017 (Turkish).
  17. ↑ didf.de: Enough ! We want the democratic solution to the Kurdish question! (PDF; 96 kB) (No longer available online.) Federation of Democratic Workers' Associations, formerly the original ; Retrieved September 16, 2008 (Turkish).  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.didf.de  
  18. ↑ haberler.com: DTP'lilerin Anadilde Eğitim İçin Yaptığı Eylemde Çocuklar Ön Plandaydı. Yeni Medya Elektronik Yayıncılık Ltd Şti, September 14, 2008, accessed September 15, 2017 (Turkish).
  19. ↑ radikal.com.tr: Ataturk 'Kürtlere özerklik verilecek' dedi. (No longer available online.) In: Radikal. Hürriyet Gazetecilik ve Matbaacılık A.Ş., November 13, 2006, archived from the original on April 8, 2016 ; Retrieved September 15, 2017 (Turkish). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.radikal.com.tr
  20. ↑ cnnturk.com: DTP Öcalan'ın projesini vekillere dağıttı. (No longer available online.) In: CNN Türk . Cable News Network LP, LLLP., Oct. 29, 2008, archived from the original on Nov. 1, 2008 ; Retrieved September 15, 2017 (Turkish). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.cnnturk.com
  21. ↑ derStandard.at: Turkish Kurds hesitate to participate in Kurdish meetings DTP suspects liquidation of the PKK as the purpose of the planned conference in Erbil. In: THE STANDARD Online. STANDARD Medien AG, March 28, 2009, accessed on September 15, 2017 .
  22. ↑ For example cnnturk.com: Ölen PKK'lının taziye çadırı belediyeden. In: CNN Turk . Cable News Network LP, LLLP., April 30, 2008, accessed September 15, 2017 (Turkish).
  23. ↑ ZAMAN ONLINE : [ Internet source : archiv-url invalid DTP'li başkan: PKK ile duygusal bağımız var. ] Feza Gazetecilik A.Ş., April 17, 2007, archived from the original on May 19, 2007 ; Retrieved September 15, 2017 (Turkish).
  24. ^ DerStandard.at: The state would "drive the Kurds into the mountains". In: THE STANDARD Online. STANDARD Medien AG, February 7, 2008, accessed on September 15, 2017 .
  25. ↑ Wieland Schneider: The ideology of the state has remained the same. In: DiePresse.com. " Die Presse ", December 12, 2007, archived from the original on February 16, 2009 ("Die Presse", print edition, December 13, 2007).;
  26. ↑ a b Act No. 2820 of April 22, 1983 on political parties, RG No. 18027 of April 24, 1983; German translation by Ernst E. Hirsch in: Yearbook of Public Law of the Present (New Series). Vol. 13, Mohr Siebeck Verlag, Tübingen 1983, p. 595 ff.
  27. ↑ ZAMAN ONLINE : [ Internet source : archive url invalid Ahmet Türk, Kürtçe konuştu Meclis Tv yayını kesti. ] Feza Gazetecilik A.Ş., February 24, 2009, archived from the original on November 22, 2011 ; Retrieved September 15, 2017 (Turkish).
  28. ↑ Jürgen Gottschlich: Kurdish causes a scandal. Language dispute in parliament. In: taz.de. taz Verlags- und Vertriebs GmbH, February 26, 2009, archived from the original ; accessed on September 15, 2017 .
  29. ↑ Gerd Höhler : [ Internet source: archiv-url invalid "Brotherhood of Languages" is far away. ] In: DerWesten.de . FUNKE MEDIEN NRW GmbH , February 24, 2009, archived from the original on September 24, 2015 ; accessed on September 15, 2017 .
  30. ↑ cnnturk.com: [ Internet source: archive url invalid Roj TV davasında karar açıklandı. ] In: CNN Turk . Cable News Network LP, LLLP., April 15, 2008, archived from the original ; Retrieved September 15, 2017 (Turkish).
  31. ↑ cnnturk.com: [ Internet source: archive url invalid DTP'li Demirtaş'ın yargılanmasına başlandı. ] In: CNN Turk . Cable News Network LP, LLLP., March 20, 2008, archived from the original ; Retrieved September 15, 2017 (Turkish).
  32. ↑ taraf.com.tr: [ Internet source: archive url invalid Bu çoban ülkeyi bölecekti. ] In: Taraf . Taraf Gazetecilik Sanayi, December 13, 2009, archived from the original on May 23, 2016 ; accessed on September 15, 2017 .
  33. ↑ ZAMAN ONLINE : [ Internet source: archival url invalid Anayasa Mahkemesi DTP'nin kapatılmasına karar verdi. ] Feza Gazetecilik A.Ş., December 11, 2009, archived from the original on May 19, 2007 ; Retrieved September 15, 2017 (Turkish).
  34. ↑ yenisafak.com.tr: DTP'ye silahlı saldırı. In: Yeni Şafak . Albayrak Medya Grubu, October 4, 2007, archived from the original on December 10, 2015 ; accessed on September 15, 2017 .
  35. ↑ haber7: DTP ilçe binasına silahlı saldırı. In: haber7.com. Nokta Electronic Media Inc, October 7, 2007, accessed September 16, 2017 (Turkish, German armed attack on DTP district buildings ).
  36. ↑ Hürriyet : DTP İskenderun teşkilat binası kurşunlandı. In: hurriyet.com.tr. Hürriyet Gazetecilik ve Matbaacılık A.Ş., August 4, 2006, accessed on September 16, 2017 (Turkish, German DTP İskenderun organization building shot at ).
  37. ↑ HABER 10: 'DTP baskı altında'. (No longer available online.) In: haber10.com. Medya-Altaş Grup, October 9, 2007, archived from the original on February 17, 2009 ; Retrieved on September 16, 2017 (Turkish, 'DTP under pressure' ). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.haber10.com
  38. ↑ cnnturk.com: [ Internet source: archive url invalid DTP'nin düzenlediği gecede gerginlik. ] In: CNN Turk . Cable News Network LP, LLLP., April 28, 2008, archived from the original ; Retrieved September 15, 2017 (Turkish).

Web links

Wikisource: Turkish Public Prosecutor's Indictment  - Sources and Full Texts (Turkish)