Constitutional Court shuts down DTP

Niyazi Dalyancı State of affairs in Turkey, already rife with political and social tensions, took yet another precarious turn with the eleven members of the Constitutional Court voting unanimously to close down the Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP) on grounds that it has become a focal point of activities aimed at undermining the national integrity of the country. According to the ruling Ahmet Turk, one of the two co-chairpersons of DTP and Aysel Tugluk, member of the parliament lost their seats in the nation’s legislative assembly bringing down the number of deputies the party had down to 19. The Constitutional Court ruling also stipulates that all property, including office furniture owned by DTP should be transferred to the national treasury. Turk announced a day after the ruling that his party will withdraw from the parliament and “continue their struggle for democracy outside.” Describing the ruling as “political not legal” Turk said his party never proposed “violence” as a method for solving the Kurdish question and accused the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) for falling silent when the Constitutional Court took up the case for closing down DTP. “They were very critical of the Constitutional Court when their closure case was being processed. They are democrats for themselves only,” said Turk. He was referring to the case last year when the Constitutional Court took up a similar case to close down AKP on grounds that the party was undermining the secular principles of the Turkish Republic. Although the court ruling in July 2008 said AKP has become the center of anti-secular activities, it stopped short of closing the ruling party and handed down a hefty fine. Although the detailed ruling of the Constitutional Court has not been made public yet, Chief Justice Hasim Kilic referred to DTP’s “ties with the […]













