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Nurettin Demirtas was elected new leader
of Turkey's Kurdish DTP party
9.11.2007
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November 9, 2007
Ankara,-- An era of three-way party
leadership began for the pro-Kurdish Democratic
Society Party (DTP) after the sole candidate for
party leadership, Nurettin Demirtaş, was elected the
new party leader at the party’s second general
assembly on Thursday.
Mardin deputy Emine Ayla will act as a co-chairman
of the DTP and former party leader Ahmet Türk will
act as the party’s group chairman in Parliament,
forming a three-way party leadership structure.
Demirtaş, who was the party’s former deputy
chairman, in his speech on Wednesday at Ankara’s
Büyükahanli Hotel, urged the country’s politicians
to use Turkey’s material resources, time and energy
for the development and settlement of social peace
in the country rather than for military endeavors.
His remarks came two weeks after Parliament passed a
motion authorizing the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) to
carry out a cross-border operation in northern Iraq
in the wake of a rise in the separatist Kurdistan
Workers’ Party (PKK) violence. www.ekurd.net |
Nurettin Demirtaş (L) was elected the new party
leader, former party leader Ahmet Türk (R) will act
as the party’s group chairman in Parliament. |
“Though politics is supposed to be the language of
solutions through dialogue, violence has ended up as
the determining factor of events, turning politics
into a means at its service,” Demirtaş said. He
noted the parties that harbor such a mentality are
constantly dragging the country toward chaos.
Demirtaş identified the Kurdish problem as one of
the priority issues that politicians urgently need
to address. He stressed that people’s quest for
peace should not be spoiled by violence.
“Each of the mines planted in the roads, each of the
bombs hurled in the mountains, are exploding in our
hearts. This pain is experienced not only by the
mothers who lose a part of their souls but by all
the tens of thousands of Turkish and Kurdish mothers
who are looking for the return of their sons every
day,” said Demirtaş.
The PKK has killed dozens of Turkish soldiers in
recent weeks, creating an atmosphere of grief all
around Turkey.
Demirtaş acknowledged that a democratic settlement
of the Kurdish issue has become very difficult under
today’s circumstances. However, he suggested that
Turkey can find a way out by taking the situation of
Turks living in Bulgaria as an example for itself.
“By providing rights to the Turkish people there,
the problems relating to the Turkish population were
resolved with a peaceful and democratic
constitution,” he said.
The DTP chairman complained that although his party
sees Parliament as the venue for the solution to all
problems, his party members have been exposed to an
unbelievable lack of tolerance and condemnation by
the members of Parliament.
DTP deputies have come under intense pressure from
other legislators due to the party’s alleged links
to the 'terrorist' PKK organization since it has so
far failed to declare the PKK a terrorist
organization.
Demirtaş also harshly criticized remarks made by
Justice Minister Mehmet Ali Şahin, who said he was
not entirely happy about the release of eight
Turkish soldiers abducted by the PKK in an ambush
last month. Demirtaş referred to Şahin’s remarks as
the “moment when humanity ceased to exist.”
“No member of the Turkish Armed Forces should have
found themselves in such a situation,” Minister
Şahin had said earlier this week.
In the general assembly, the party’s “Political
Attitude Document,” which was announced in a
preliminary convention two weeks ago and foresees
autonomy for Kurds, was adopted unanimously. www.ekurd.net
The DTP general assembly was followed by nearly 200
reporters. Due to the crowd, hundreds of people had
to stand, and the police took special measures
around the hotel to prevent any incidents.
todayszaman com
**
Kurds are not recognized as an official minority in
Turkey and are denied rights granted to other
minority groups. Under EU pressure, Turkey recently
granted Kurds limited rights for broadcasts and
education in the Kurdish language, but critics say
the measures do not go far enough.
The use of the term "Kurdistan" is vigorously
rejected due to its alleged political implications
by the Republic of Turkey, which does not recognize
the existence of a "Turkish Kurdistan" Southeast
Turkey.
Others estimate over 40 million Kurds live in
Big Kurdistan (Iraq, Turkey, Syria, Iran, Armenia),
which covers an area as big as France, about half of
all Kurds which estimate to 20 million live in
Turkey.
Turkey is home to over 25 million ethnic Kurds, some
of whom openly sympathise with the Kurdish PKK for a
Kurdish homeland in the country's mainly Kurdish
southeast of Turkey.
Before August 2002, the Turkish government placed
severe restrictions on the use of Kurdish language,
prohibiting the language in education and broadcast
media.
The Kurdish alphabet is still not recognized
in Turkey, and use of the Kurdish letters X, W, Q
which do not exist in the Turkish
alphabet has led to judicial persecution in 2000 and
2003
The Kurdish flag flown officially in Iraqi Kurdistan
but unofficially flown by Kurds in Armenia. The flag
is banned in Iran, Syria, and Turkey where flying it
is a criminal offence"
Southeastern Turkey:
North Kurdistan (
Kurdistan-Turkey)
wikipedia
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