Pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP) deputies have begun raising their concerns that if the Constitutional Court brings the issue of their party's pending closure case to the agenda sooner or later and makes a ruling that will result in the closure of the party, this will kill the government-announced plans to initiate Kurdish reforms (Zaman, Sept. 5).
DTP Batman deputy Bengi Yıldız thus told the Zaman daily on Sept. 5 that the first task of Parliament once it embarks on its new legislative term on Oct. 1 should be to make necessary amendments that will make it more difficult to close down a party. The ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) itself narrowly escaped closure last year over charges of infringing on the country's secular character.
The Turkish judiciary ended its long summer recess and resumed work yesterday. This has raised concerns over whether the Constitutional Court may decide to start deliberations soon on the DTP closure case. This is despite the fact that the court has not taken up the closure case issue since the Ankara Public Prosecutor's Office first applied to the court for the closure of the party slightly less than two years ago.
A majority of the members of the court are known for their pro-establishment stance, raising questions over the fairness of the court's decisions.
A senior Constitutional Court member told me around two months ago that there have been deliberate attempts to keep the file on the shelf as long as possible to avoid a crisis situation.
The chief prosecutor of the Supreme Court of Appeals, Abdurrahman Yalçınkaya, opened a court case against the DTP at the Constitutional Court on Nov. 16, 2007, claiming that it is in conflict with the independence of the state and the indivisible integrity of its territory and nation.
"The speeches and actions by party leaders have proven that the party has become a focal point of activities against the sovereignty of the state and the indivisible unity of the country and the nation," said a statement released at the time by the prosecutor's office.
The prosecutor's indictment, sent to the Constitutional Court, claims that the DTP has become the center of actions that violate Article 68 of the Constitution, which states that political parties shall not be in conflict with the independence of the state and the indivisible integrity of its territory and nation.
The indictment also accused DTP members of supporting the PKK by not denouncing its violent actions.
The chief prosecutor also asked the Constitutional Court to ban 221 members of the party, including eight of its deputies, from taking part in politics for five years after the closure of the party.
Paradoxically, some of the accusations leveled against DTP members and deputies, such as their demand for Kurdish autonomy, have lately been uttered by some DTP deputies as part of the ongoing debate over Kurdish reforms.
A well-informed source close to the Constitutional Court told me recently that the rapporteur has not yet completed and delivered his report to the court, which is required for it to decide whether to hear the closure case or not.
But as a reflection of increased concerns of sabotaging the Kurdish reform process, it is feared that the Constitutional Court may be pushed to hear the closure case soon.
Even if the DTP closure case is not taken up soon, a crisis situation may erupt on Sept. 29, when a court is scheduled to try DTP Chairman Ahmet Türk and two other DTP deputies over various charges including being in conflict with the unitary state.
DTP deputies received official notices in May from a court instructing them to testify as part of cases in which they were allegedly involved in the past. The deputies, charged with spreading the propaganda of a terrorist organization, have long refused to testify, saying they would be subject to discrimination if they were forced to do so as they have parliamentary immunity.
Upon then-Parliament Speaker Köksal Toptan's intervention, the 11th Criminal Court set Sept. 29 as the date for the DTP deputies to testify. This has temporarily prevented the eruption of a crisis over the possible police escort of DTP deputies from Parliament in order to testify.
If the court makes a ruling punishing those deputies or if DTP lawmakers again refuse to testify, in both cases this will be very damaging for the Kurdish reform process.
