BDP decision to join Parliament considered to be litmus test

In yet another call to the BDP to end its boycott and join Parliament, 16 bar associations from the country's predominantly Kurdish east and southeastern provinces said the BDP should be in Parliament to contribute to the solution of Turkey's long-lasting Kurdish problem.

The bar associations indicated in their statement that the Kurdish problem should be solved without violence, and state officials' contacts with high level people from the terrorist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) should continue as society demands an urgent solution to the problem.

In addition, 220 civic organizations in the predominantly Kurdish city of Diyarbakır gathered in front of the Democratic Society Congress (DTK) building on Saturday, calling on all parties to start a dialogue to end the violence. “It must be insured that all representatives of society must be able to take part in drafting a new constitution that will be participatory, democratic and with equal rights, contributing in a manner that will pave the way for the solution of the Kurdish problem,” the group said. Furthermore, a conference in Diyarbakır on Sep. 17-18 brought together a wide range of Kurdish organizations that widely agreed that the BDP, which had 36 deputies elected in the June 12 general election, should be in Parliament when the summer ends on Oct. 1.

Şerafettin Elçi, an independent deputy from the BDP who was formerly the leader of the Participatory Democracy Party (KADEP), told Today's Zaman that these are all signs showing that BDP supporters want to see the party in Parliament, not out.

“Kurds and others from civil society, with almost 90 percent support, want us to be in Parliament. We need to be active in Parliament in the process of making the country's new constitution. If we are not having an effect in Parliament, then we can retract,” he said. On the other hand, there are suspicions about the BDP's actions when it comes to its ability to act independently of PKK leaders.

A news story in the Taraf daily on Monday stated that the Executive Council of the Kurdish Communities Union (KCK), an umbrella political organization for the PKK, sent an e-mail message to some Kurdish organizations recently saying that BDP’s entering Parliament would be equal to “serving the enemy.”

BDP’s Co-chairperson Selahattin Demir-taş denied the report on Monday and said that they have not been threatened by the KCK about the issue, and if the allegation is proved, he would resign.

Elçi told Today’s Zaman he is not aware of such a threat from the KCK, but the BDP is sensitive about the PKK’s demands.

The government and some civil society organizations have been accusing the BDP of not sufficiently distancing itself from the PKK, and the BDP has also been criticized for not contributing to the resolution of the Kurdish issue by peaceful means.

Kurdish intellectual and observer Nizamettin Barış said it is not right to expect the BDP to act independently.

“The BDP cannot act with disregard to the PKK; the PKK would not take civil society and the public into consideration,” he said answering questions from Today’s Zaman.

The PKK has dramatically escalated their attacks in Turkey since July, killing dozens of security personnel and at least 10 civilians, including three people in a car bombing in the Turkish capital last week.

On Saturday, they attacked a Turkish army outpost, killing six soldiers and wounding 11 in the country’s southeast. Three PKK members were killed in the ensuing clash near the town of Pervari in Siirt province.

The attacks came after Turkish warplanes started to bomb suspected PKK hideouts in neighboring northern Iraq, including the main PKK base on Kandil, in mid-August in response to the surge in violence. Turkey’s military claimed to have killed up to 160 PKK members in airstrikes in August.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said last Friday that Turkey would only halt its military drive if the PKK “lay down their arms,” days after confirming reports that government officials met with representatives of the PKK in Europe. The secret talks, which apparently failed to produce any tangible results, came to light after some websites posted an audio recording from an alleged 2010 meeting.

On Sunday, Erdoğan left the door open for dialogue, while saying Turkey would maintain its fight against “terrorism.”

“We say it very clearly: we will struggle against terrorism until the end, but we will also negotiate with those who prefer politics,” he said. “Those who prefer politics can talk to us, others can’t.”

Turkey has long realized that it can’t win the war through military measures alone, and the government has granted more cultural rights to the Kurds such as broadcasts in the once-banned Kurdish language on state television. However, the PKK and the country’s Kurdish political movement insist on autonomy and Kurdish education in schools, which Turkey fears could divide the country along ethnic lines.

The PKK’s escalating violence has even drawn a reaction from some members of the BDP. Selim Sadak, a Kurdish mayor of the BDP in the southern province of Siirt where the PKK gunned down four young women and severely injured two last week lambasted the PKK, saying, “the attack is not acceptable and cannot be justified. I cannot accept this [attack] and I will not do so.”

The public outcry even spread to the southern province of Hakkari, where the BDP swept all three seats in the last election on June 12. A group of about 150 people recently went to the BDP district office to complain about the violence and frequent calls by the PKK to close shops in protest of the military operations. Stressing that the shop keepers can’t even run their daily businesses any more because of PKK attacks, the group said: “Enough is enough. You promised us peace and tranquility during the election campaign, and we gave you 90 percent of the electoral vote here. That never happened.” The BDP party group is convening in Diyarbakır today, and a decision whether or not they will be in Parliament is expected to come out of the meeting.

30 suspects arrested in İzmir KCK operation

A Turkish court has arrested 30 out of 34 detainees in the Aegean province of İzmir on suspected links with the Kurdish Communities Union (KCK), an umbrella political organization for the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) terrorist organization.

The 34 suspects, including officials from the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP), were detained in a major operation against the KCK last week. After questioning by police, they were referred to a court for further interrogation by prosecutors. Prosecutors released four of them and demanded that the court arrest the other 30. The court ruled for the arrest of all 30 suspects, who reportedly include senior KCK members responsible for the organization’s activities in the Aegean region.

The KCK operation in İzmir comes as part of a major KCK investigation that started in December 2009. A large number of Kurdish politicians, including several mayors and officials from the pro-Kurdish BDP, have been detained in the case. The suspects are accused of various crimes, including membership in a terrorist organization, aiding and abetting a terrorist organization and attempting to destroy the country’s unity and territorial integrity. The BDP says the KCK investigation is the government’s method of suppressing its politicians, denying any links between the suspects and any terrorist organization.