DTP DEPUTIES HOLD FIRST GROUP MEETING
Today’s Zaman, Turkey
Aug 21 2007
DTP held its first parliamentary group meeting yesterday. Deputy
chairman of the DTP’s parliamentary group, Selahattin Demirtaþ,
stressed the importance of this meeting, saying:
"This is the first time since 1924 that we, as Kurdish citizens,
are making politics within the framework of Parliament, with our
own identities." Demirtaþ’s intentional neglect on participation by
the DEP after the 1991 elections is being seen as yet another sign
of their determination to break ties with unfortunate events of the
past. The DTP’s group meeting was also significant as party leader
Ahmet Turk hinted that the color of their vote in the presidential
election is "empty." Reiterating that they would join the vote, Turk
warned that their decision to cast empty votes should not be compared
to the Republican People’s Party’s (CHP) decision to boycott the
election. Turk said their decision relates to presidential candidate
Abdullah Gul’s failure to promise a civilian solution to the Kurdish
problem. "Our priority is civil politics. Our preference is that
Parliament elect a civilian president. We want the elected president
to embrace the 72 million [people of the nation]. We had a meeting
with Mr. Gul about our expectations of a peaceful solution to the
Kurdish problem, but we didn’t receive an open message from him,"
Turk explained.
This first meeting of the parliamentary group echoed a recent critical
report by the DTP about its identity and policies. Turk said the
overwhelming number of votes won by the Justice and Development Party
(AK Party) is a clear message coming out of the ballot box that the
nation has closed its gates to chauvinist, nationalist and racist
understandings. "This message says the nation does not support those
touting war, that the people want a peaceful solution," said Turk.
Emphasizing that the DTP has taken this message, Turk promised that
his party will endeavor to prioritize democratic methods and develop
a peaceful and democratic process to solve the Kurdish problem.
Commenting on a controversial declaration by the president of the
Turkish Historical Society (TTK), Yusuf Halacoðlu, that Kurdish Alevis
in Turkey are actually Armenian converts, Turk called for his immediate
dismissal. Claiming that Halacoðlu is promoting a racist-separatist
polarization among the public, Turk said this understanding is bringing
"brotherly peoples" face to face.
In a recent newspaper interview Halacoðlu claimed that there are
no Kurds in Turkey, or in the ranks of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party
(PKK). "Our research shows that the Kurds of Turkey are actually of
the Turkmen stock and the Kurdish Alevis are of Armenian origin,"
Halacoðlu claimed.
–Boundary_(ID_Ad+WPE+praZktJmn/RgKDg)–