|
Turkish Elections, History in the Making
3.8.2007 |
|
|
|
KNCNA, Press Release
August 3, 2007
Since 1994 Kurdish politicians have been unable to
win any seats in Turkish Parliament, because of the
10% barrier.
Based on Turkish laws, to win seats in parliament a
party must have a minimum of 10% of the national
vote. The Kurdish parties failed to attain the 10%
required by law.
However, in this recent election the Democratic
Society Party (DTP) successfully managed to go
around this law by asking their candidates to
participate in the election as independents.
Although the Kurds should be represented by 25-30%
of the representatives, Kurdish candidates won 20
seats, a number great enough to create the first
Kurdish block in Turkish parliament.
The success serves as an important test of the
democratic environment in Turkey for both DTP and
the Turkish public’s political maturity. It will
also present a good chance for making progress in
resolving the Kurdish question.
Turkey has an opportunity to enter the European
Union by respecting the will of its citizens to
exercise their rights democratically, but if it
fails this test it could lose the opportunity to
become a full member of the European Union and loose
its chance.
The road to self-determination is not easy, but the
persistence of our people to gain their rights
democratically will show the world that Kurds always
seek peaceful means to solve their problems unless
they are forced to defend their rights otherwise.
The Kurdish National Congress of North America
congratulates the new pro-Kurdish parliamentarians
of independents, named "The Thousand Hopes". We
anticipate that their presence in the Turkish
parliament will bring new hope and changes; where
the voice of our nation will be heard clearly to
bring changes to the Turkish constitution
democratically and bring the Kurds their right of
self-determination.
For more information please email: knc (at)
kurdishnationalcongress.org
The Kurdish National Congress of North America (KNCNA)
P.O. Box 1663,
Lake Forest, CA 92630
USA
Tel/Fax: 949-583-1417
P.O. Box 43098
Mississauga, ONT
L5B 4A7 CANADA
Tel: 905-306-7300
P.O. Box 545
Millersville, MD
21108 USA
Tel: 410-350-4301
www.kncna.org
** 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.
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.
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
Top |
Kurd Net
does not take credit for and is not responsible for the content of news
information on this page
|
® 