[Event of the week]
Kurdish deputies to stay in Parliament despite court ban

The decision was made public by former DTP leader Ahmet Türk during a press conference on Friday. The Constitutional Court banned Türk from parliamentary membership for five years last week. The 19 DTP deputies who remain in Parliament had been expected to resign in protest of the court verdict, in a move that could have led to by-elections in the predominantly Kurdish Southeast.

“The People’s Labor Party [HEP], the Democracy and Equality Party [DEP], the Freedom and Democracy Party [ÖZDEP], the People’s Democracy Party [HADEP], the Democratic People’s Party [DEHAP] and the DTP have been shut down, but our belief in democracy is alive. The seventh party in a movement whose six earlier parties have been disbanded will be the Peace and Democracy Party [BDP]. We will continue on our path as a political movement, which will serve as Turkey’s conscience,” Türk stated.

The BDP was established after the closure case was launched against the DTP and was regarded as a potential replacement in the event the pro-Kurdish party was banned. Türk also said one of the reasons behind the DTP deputies’ decision to stay in Parliament was an appeal from the jailed leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), Abdullah Öcalan, urging the deputies to continue their political struggle in Parliament.

Last Friday the Constitutional Court ruled to rescind Türk’s parliamentary membership and that of the DTP’s former co-chair, Aysel Tuğluk. Thirty-five other members of the DTP have been banned from politics for the next five years.

The DTP had 21 deputies in Parliament. With Türk and Tuğluk losing their status as deputies, the remaining 19 will continue to serve in Parliament.

Reaffirming their previously announced decision, leaders of the now-defunct Democratic Society Party (DTP) said all deputies would withdraw from parliamentary proceedings and return to their respective constituencies to campaign at the grassroots level. The written statement issued by the party’s headquarters in Ankara also dismissed speculations that a new party group may be formed in Parliament with the possible support of one independent deputy. “Discussions like these are not on our party agenda,” the statement said, adding that the group had effectively withdrawn from participating in the works of Parliament.

Seven suspects allegedly involved in eight incidents and terrorist attacks in the last four months, including placing a bomb in front of the main opposition Republican People’s Party’s (CHP) Zeytinburnu office in İstanbul, were caught as a result of operations carried out by counterterrorism teams in İstanbul’s Zeytinburnu and Bağcılar districts. The suspects were brought to the headquarters of the İstanbul Police Department on charges of being involved in eight illegal incidents and terrorist attacks in the city, which occurred in September, October, November and December.

Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli called on the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government to stop its efforts to draft a democratization package to settle the Kurdish question through peaceful methods. “You are the prime minister, the head of the legislative body, fulfill your responsibility and give up the destruction you call the ‘initiative’ immediately,” Bahçeli told Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, speaking at a party rally that took place in Ankara’s Tandoğan Square on Saturday. The rally’s motto was “Long live the 1,000-year-old brotherhood, help it to survive.”

Of the 789,072 vehicles manufactured in Turkey between January and November of this year, 72 percent were exported, a total of 568,437 vehicles, a 36 percent decrease in exports compared to the same period last year. According to data released by the Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (OSD), like many sectors, exports in the automotive sector have taken a significant hit. The number of vehicles exported in the 11-month period from January to November of last year was 883,378.

Political tensions spilled over onto the streets across Turkey in the wake of the closure of Turkey’s main pro-Kurdish party for links with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) as nationalist groups confronted Kurdish protestors, sometimes with firearms and knives. Clashes erupted in İstanbul’s busy Beyoğlu district as around 200 Kurds protesting the closure of a leading Kurdish party clashed with Turkish nationalists and police. There was tension between Turkish and Kurdish groups in other cities as well, leading commentators to compare the images and express concerns and fear about further violence.

 Dec. 14 Monday

Three people were detained for negligence following a coal mine explosion that killed 19 workers on Dec. 10 in the northwestern province of Bursa. A manager from the mine’s managing company and two employees were detained on the orders of the public prosecutor’s office investigating the incident.

Sarajevo hosted the third trilateral meeting between the foreign ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Turkey. The ministers decided on the venue of their next gathering and vowed to meet more regularly from now on.

The European Commission warned that a ban by Turkey’s Constitutional Court on the DTP could deprive a substantial portion of Turkish voters of representation. “The commission regrets that the DTP has continuously refused to clearly distance itself from the PKK and to condemn terrorism,” Amadeu Altafaj Tardio, a spokesman for the European Union’s executive commission, told a news conference. “On the other hand, the decision of the Constitutional Court might deprive a significant segment of Turkish voters from political representation, a necessary condition for the successful outcome of the democratic opening,” he said.

Doğan Yayın Holding, Turkey’s largest media company, announced that its requests for a stay of tax authorities’ demands for collateral before it could appeal a TL 4.8 billion ($3.3 billion) fine over alleged tax fraud were rejected by the tax courts and that the group would appeal the decision.

The Health Ministry announced in a statement that the number of people who have died from the H1N1 virus, also known as swine flu, reached 415 nationwide. Twenty-seven of the victims were either pregnant women or women who had recently given birth. The statement also underlined that the vaccine is the best method to protect oneself from catching swine flu.

Prime Minister Erdoğan, who spoke in Parliament during budget talks, said the AK Party would push on with its democratic initiative agenda and not allow “terror, supporters of terrorism, bloodsuckers who feed on bloodshed and vampires” to carry out their plans. In his speech he mostly responded to opposition parties’ criticism of the government over the democratic initiative, which he swore to see through. He said his party was in no way pessimistic about the fate of the democratic initiative process, which seeks to end separatist violence by expanding the rights of Kurds in the country. “When we set out on this road, we knew what kind of obstacles, provocations and harassment we would face,” he said.

 Dec. 15 Tuesday

Two died and seven were wounded in the Bulanık district of Muş when a store owner opened fire on demonstrators protesting the closure of the DTP. Muş Deputy Governor Ali Edip Budan said the group was using the closure of the DTP as an excuse to hold a demonstration.

A court announced its verdict in the trial of 1,243 suspects charged with membership in the outlawed Revolutionary Left (Dev-Sol), a case that began 29 years ago. The court sentenced 39 people to life sentences without the possibility of parole on charges of attempting to overthrow the constitutional order.

 Dec. 16 Wednesday

Turkey’s consumer confidence continued to decline in November, decreasing by 2.59 percent compared to the preceding month, the latest data showed. The Turkish Statistics Institute (TurkStat) announced the findings of its monthly Consumer Tendency Survey, carried out in cooperation with the Central Bank of Turkey. According to the survey, the consumer confidence index, which stood at 80.46 in October, decreased by 2.59 percent to 78.38 in November, suggesting a pessimistic view of the coming 12 months.

 Dec. 17 Thursday

Interior Minister Beşir Atalay, who is also the coordinator of a much-anticipated initiative to settle the Kurdish question, reiterated once again the determination of the government to go ahead with its plans, adding that efforts to that end would gain momentum. The minister also emphasized that security forces are in full control of the violent street protests being held to hamper the government’s efforts and called for more common sense. “Our aim is to eliminate acts of terror in the country and grant broader freedoms to our citizens,” he explained. Atalay’s remarks came during a press conference following a coordination meeting held on Wednesday attended by Prime Minister Erdoğan and several state ministers.

A statement made by Chief of General Staff Gen. İlker Başbuğ accusing intellectuals and writers of falsely associating the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) with illegal schemes that allegedly cost the life of many privates serving in the military drew strong criticism from intellectuals. In televised remarks, Başbuğ said there was a psychological war being waged against the TSK. Gen. Başbuğ said, “What hurts and offends us most is that some think and claim that there is the possibility that there are people inside the TSK who can make bloody calculations involving the Mehmetçik [Turkish soldiers] whose lives are entrusted in our hands.”

Prime Minister Erdoğan stated that the only winners from terrorism are weapons traffickers, pledging to stop those who feed on the blood of the country’s youth. Erdoğan said Turkey is continuing its anti-terrorism efforts with the same determination as before. “Our security forces are doing what needs to be done. Our judicial system is working. But additional measures are needed in this fight. We use the most high-tech weapons there are, but if we fail to bring our democratic standards to higher levels, if we fail to eradicate poverty, we cannot rid ourselves of this curse, terrorism,” the prime minister said during a visit to Konya, where he attended ceremonies to commemorate Mevlana Jelaluddin Rumi on the 736th anniversary of the 13th-century Sufi saint’s death.

Turkey’s budget deficit in the first 11 months of this year climbed to TL 46.36 billion, an increase of 460.4 percent compared to the same period of last year, while the budget deficit also rose in November, totaling TL 3.12 billion, representing a 7.7 percent rise over the same month last year, the latest data from Finance Ministry showed.

 Dec. 18 Friday

Deputies from the now-defunct DTP reconsidered their decision to resign from Parliament and will continue to serve despite a court decision to ban their party, eliminating a potential source of political instability. The decision was made public by former DTP leader Ahmet Türk during a press conference.

Prosecutors conducting an ongoing probe into Ergenekon, a criminal network nested within the state accused of plotting to topple the government, summoned the honorary president of the Supreme Court of Appeals, Sabih Kanadoğlu, to testify as part of the probe.