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Party closure strengthens urban arm of terror
The primary reason for this fear is the fact that the Constitutional Court introduced a political ban on the moderates of the DTP, who were often at odds with the KCK and its urban attacks. DTP member Orhan Miroğlu, a critic of not only his own party but also the PKK, was included in the list of people banned from political party membership of any kind for the next five years. Selim Sadak, another moderate, was also banned from political activity.
Aysel Tuğluk, the party’s former co-chairwoman, who has been criticized for questioning the possible relationship between the PKK and Ergenekon, a clandestine terrorist group nested within Turkish state hierarchy currently charged with plotting to overthrow the democratically elected government, was also banned by the court. Tuğluk was not well liked by the KCK for stating in 2008 that the Kurdish movement could develop civilian initiatives not linked to the PKK for a solution. DTP leader Ahmet Türk, also banned from politics by the court, was the number one DTP politician the KCK wanted to get rid of. In fact, in 2007 and 2008, there were attempts to overthrow Türk from party leadership. For some time, the DTP was chaired by Nurettin Demirtaş, a DTP member who doesn’t have parliamentary membership. However, Türk was later re-elected as the party’s leader.
Leyla Zana, a member of the now-defunct Democracy Party (DEP), a predecessor of the DTP, was also banned from politics. Observers note that she was perceived as a potential threat against the leadership of PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan. In addition to not being a founder or a member of the DTP, Zana also did not participate in DTP meetings or activities.
With the ruling, there is now increased risk that Kurdish politics in Turkey might fall under domination of the KCK. Some suggest that the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP), the DTP’s back-up party established prior to the closure decision, is already dominated by the KCK. The BDP’s leader, Demir Çelik, was actually detained in September as part of an investigation into the KCK. He is also known as a critic of the DTP for its moderate politics.
The Constitutional Court’s ruling, based on the indictment of the Supreme Court of Appeals Chief Prosecutor Abdurrahman Yalçınkaya, has also left untouched hard-liners inside the DTP known for their proximity to the KCK. One such person is Emine Ayna, who recently said Kurdish people wanted DTP deputies to “join the PKK in the mountains” to fight Turkey. Likewise, Kamuray Yüksek and Bayram Altun, deputy co-chairmen of the DTP, who were arrested in KCK operations, are not included on the list of people banned from political party membership. Sebahat Tuncel, who was in jail on charges of PKK membership until she was elected to Parliament in 2007, and DTP Van deputy Özdal Üçer, a central figure in KCK demonstrations in the Southeast, were left untouched by the court.
Meanwhile, PKK supporters staged protests on Friday and over the weekend across the country, stoning buildings and setting small fires. They stoned a building hosting military families in the city of Hakkari, close to the borders of Iraq and Iran. Police responded with water cannons to disperse the crowds.
In İstanbul on Saturday night, groups of protestors threw Molotov cocktails and stones at various buildings. Police had to use tear gas to disperse the protestors in Beyoğlu. The group set on fire a lamppost with a MOBESE camera that is part of the city’s integrated security system. In the Gazi Mahallesi area, protestors vandalized three city busses.
The Constitutional Court has shut down several Kurdish parties on similar charges in the past. The predecessor of the DTP dissolved itself in 2005. The party is the 27th to be shut down in Turkey since 1968.
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