European Forum

Turkey’s internal situation shaky after DTP’s closure

On 11 December Turkey’s Constitutional Court banned the only pro-Kurdish party in Parliament -the Democratic Society Party (DTP)- after it found the party guilty of links with militants from the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). The Court’s decision was a true blow to the government’s efforts to end decades of conflict in the country.

Violent clashes
The same weekend several clashes erupted in Istanbul when around 200 DTP supporters staged violent demonstrations and clashed with Turkish nationalists and police. Also several protests erupted in Turkey's Kurd-dominated southeast. This area was the focus of the most violent protests since the ruling, as demonstrators were throwing fire bombs and rocks at the riot police, and several protesters were arrested.

DTP lawmakers to stay in Parliament
While immediately after the ruling DTP politicians said they would leave Parliament, on 18 December the DTP said its lawmakers will stay in Parliament, and become part of another political group. DTP leader Ahmet Turk said that the group will join the Peace and Democracy (BDP), a small Kurdish group that was founded recently. Both PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan and Turk advised the DTP to remain in Parliament.

Hunt for PKK terrorists
Amid the government's ongoing investigation against PKK separatists and the outlawed DTP, on 22 December prosecutors in Ankara started an investigation against Ahmet Turk. The move came just after he announced that Abdullah Ocalan, who is serving a life sentence in prison, urged DTP's politicians to stay in Parliament.

End of December a Court in Diyarbakir –the largest city in south-eastern Turkey- pressed charges against 23 Kurdish officials over their alleged links to the PKK. The group included eight mayors and prominent Kurdish activist Hatip Dicle, a former lawmaker who served ten years in prison for PKK membership. These 23 people were part of a bigger group of 36 who security forces arrested some days earlier as part of a large-scale operation in several Kurd-dominated regions in southeast Turkey. The operation was the third in 2009. Hereafter, unrest and protests continued when several demonstrators were injured and about a dozen others were arrested in the southeast. In early January 2010, the police detained another 20 people in simultaneous operations across four provinces targeting an urban group accused of collaborating with armed Kurdish militants.

AKP’s Kurdish initiative at risk
Since the Court banned the DTP using a controversial political parties act, the government’s initiative to grant more rights to the Kurds seem to have come to a halt. Both Prime Minister Recep Tayip Erdogan of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and Interior Minister Besir Atalay criticised the ban and said the government was determined to push forward its democratic efforts. It is likely, however, that a new road map might be established. The main reason for this is the fact that the AKP has become subject to increasing criticism from its own members regarding the Kurdish initiative, whereas before it was mostly the opposition parties who were strongly criticising the initiative. There are now two groups within the government who have voiced their disapproval of the plan. 

Deputies with nationalist backgrounds oppose implementing an ethnic-oriented Kurdish initiative. This group embraces the supra identity of “Turkish” while objecting to the idea of constitutional reforms on citizenship specific for the Kurdish population. But they also believe that delaying solving the problem harms the party. These deputies also criticize the Kurdish-origin deputies for not clearly announcing their opposition to separation of the state and the outlawed PKK. The Kurdish-origin deputies, on the other hand, are upset by the slow pace of the initiative. They want urgent steps that will relieve Southeast Anatolia from social and economic suffering. The tension in the party has thus made the AKP management reconsider its handling of the initiative, and the AKP decided to confront the hesitations voiced by its deputies. Minister Atalay will meet these deputies and listen to their complaints and suggestions, out of which a fresh road map might be established.

In August, the government announced plans to expand Kurdish freedoms in a bid to erode popular support for the PKK and end the conflict. Analysts now say DTP's ban could strengthen the PKK's hand by undermining confidence in the democratic process. The PKK, listed as a terrorist group by Turkey and much of the international community, took up arms against Ankara in 1984, sparking a conflict that has claimed about 45,000 lives.

Early elections?
Earlier this week PM Erdogan dismissed calls for early elections, after an opposition party called for an early election. Erdogan said that the government had reached almost all goals in the past seven years.  "We have witnessed several crises. There have been many important developments like occupation in Iraq, terrorist attacks, elections and closure case. Turkey has overcome all uncertainties thanks to its sound economic structure and powerful ruling party," he said. "A reasonable person must not mention early elections for now. It harms the country," said Erdogan. Also Egemen Bağış, Turkey’s chief EU negotiator, denied claims on early elections in 2010, and said that the only thing the government will do is focus more on reforms.

Sources: Hurriyet Daily; Reuters; Worldbulletin; SE Times