Pro-Kurdish politicians find new life in BDP

22/12/2009

Deputies from the now-defunct Democratic Society Party have decided to stay in parliament.

By Esra Erduran for Southeast European Times in Ankara -- 22/12/09

Former Pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party leader Ahmet Turk addresses the media in Ankara on December 11th, after the country's top court banned his party. [Getty Images]

Turkey's main pro-Kurdish party is no more, following a December 11th constitutional court decision to shut it down. But former MPs from the Democratic Society Party (DTP) will reman in parliament and are regrouping under a new banner.

The court not only shut down the DTP, but banned 37 of its members from political life for five years, including co-leaders Ahmet Türk and Aysel Tuğluk. Nineteen others remain eligible to hold seats in parliament.

After initially suggesting they would stage a boycott, the ex-DTP deputies now say they will join the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP), established in May. The decision is being hailed by political analysts who say the absence of a pro-Kurdish party would have threatened Turkey's stability and its EU accession prospects.

The move also wards off the possibility of snap elections, required by law if the number of empty seats in parliament surpasses 28. The DTP members' absence would have left parliament with a total of 27 vacancies.

The BDP currently does not have enough seats to form a group in parliament. However independent Istanbul deputy Ufuk Uras suggested he might join forces with the BDP, giving them sufficient representation.

"As a deputy who has been defending peace, equality, fellowship and the idea of solving the Kurdish issue in parliament, I want all electors and all people to know that I would not hesitate to take needed steps while we are passing through this crucial period," Uras said.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who was once the subject of a political ban, says Turkey has become the "cemetery of political parties".

"We are against party closures, because a political party does not commit a crime but real persons do. So, if there should be a punishment, then people should be punished, not the parties. If you ban a party, another one will be founded," Erdogan said.

The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) is viewed as the successor of two previously banned formations, the Virtue and Welfare parties. The constitutional court barred Erdogan from politics in 1998 after deciding that a speech he gave at a rally undermined Turkey's Kemalist principles.

The DTP was also built on the ashes of banned parties: DEHAP, HADEP and HEP.