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BDP sees some positive change under new leaders
When the Democratic Society Party (DTP) was shut down by the Constitutional Court and its former chairpersons Ahmet Türk and Aysel Tuğluk were banned from politics, the party’s deputies decided to withdraw from Parliament. However, after pressure from civil society and especially after remarks from terrorist Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Öcalan urging them to stay in legal politics, the deputies decided to continue in Parliament.
The BDP replaced the DTP, and a former parliamentary group chairman of the DTP, Demirtaş, and Diyarbakır deputy Kışanak were elected to the leadership of the new party.
Öcalan, who is serving a life sentence on İmralı Island in the Sea of Marmara, later also said that the BDP should speak for itself and not for the PKK or any other illegal organization, to strengthen its hand.
Emin Aktar, the chairman of Diyarbakır Bar Association, recalled that Demirtaş was the former chairman of the Human Rights Association (İHD) in Diyarbakır and as a lawyer has strong ties within society.
“His discourse is more moderate. Despite the fact that the government suspended the democratization initiative, he strongly urges dialogue, and this is positive,” Aktar said.
According to him, there is a broader vision in the BDP now. He said that Kurdish politics has to put a distance between itself and violence and that Demirtaş’s vision is consistent with this principle.
Aktar underlined that another difference under the leadership of Demirtaş and Kışanak is their approach to legal discussions such as the Sledgehammer plot.
He recalled that previously, Kurdish politics had not been strongly involved with discussions regarding the Ergenekon case, but they now frequently voice their support for the investigation.
In contrast, Şah İsmail Bedirhanoğlu, the chairman of the Southeastern Anatolia Industrialists and Businessmen’s Association (GÜNSİAD), said that at the beginning, he thought there would be a difference in pro-Kurdish politics, but some signs were proving the opposite.
“Regarding constitutional amendments, Demirtaş said that they will not let the [ruling Justice and Development Party] AK Party control the judiciary. Well, it is not the duty of pro-Kurdish politics to defend the Constitutional Court, which closed down pro-Kurdish parties,” Bedirhanoğlu said.
Altan Tan, a conservative Kurdish intellectual, also thinks that there is not a clear difference between the former pro-Kurdish party leadership and the current one, but on the other hand, it is noticeable that Kurdish politics has started to be interested in all disadvantaged groups. “For example, recently they made some parliamentary inquiries regarding the rights of women who wear the headscarf; this is a positive development,” he said.
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