Turkey's High Court decision to ban the DTP was unjust

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Turkey's High Court decision to ban the DTP was unjust

(December 14, 2009). Justice in Turkey is premised on the Turkish Constitution, which has been adopted by the military junta and ultra Turkish nationalists. The decision of Turkish High Court to ban the Democratic Society Party (DTP) was based on a racist provision of the Turkish Constitution that claims "all who hold Turkish citizenship in Turkey are Turks."

It is instructive to recall the history of the Turkish "justice" system since 1968, the Turkish High Court has banned 27 political parties; and since 1993, this is 3rd Kurdish political party that has been banned by the Turkish judicial authorities. Every time the ultra Turkish nationalists that control all the governmental institutions use various pretexts to continue their repressive policies against the Kurds. This time is not different; the Court's reasoning was based on the alleged DTP's connection with the PKK without validating the allegation. Needless to say, every time, after being banned, the Kurds have returned wiser and more determined than ever before, and continued their just struggle.

It is ironic that the Turkish authorities have been using defamatory labels such as "terrorist organization," to describe the PKK, while refusing to accept that the PKK is a product of the Turkish racist Constitution and inhumane policies against the existence of the Kurdish people in Kurdistan-Turkey. If all people were equal before the law and the Kurdish political and cultural identity was recognized in Turkey, the PKK would probably not have come to existence -- if it did, it would be a political party, and would not have launched guerrilla warfare against the Turkish state.

Ultra Turkish nationalists cannot stubbornly continue to claim a homogeneous Turkish society while there are more than twenty million Kurds oppressed under their rule. It is time for the Turkish authorities to accept the reality in which Turkey lives, which is a society that consists of Turks, Kurds, and other ethnicities. Banning Kurdish politicians such as honorable Ahmed Turk, Ms. Aysel Tugluk, and others will not diminish their impact on the Kurds and their peaceful struggle to achieve their national and democratic rights.

Turkish authorities must accept the fact that the Kurds' ambition for a peaceful and prosperous life will not be stopped by banning the DTP from political activities. The Kurdish struggle was in existence prior to the DTP and will not stop as a result of the ban on the DTP. Therefore, it would be wise for the Turkish authorities to work with the DTP and Mr. Turk, instead of banning them, to find a peaceful-political solution to the Kurdish problem and pull Turkey out of this hateful cycle before Turkey reverses its progress toward achieving status as a modern state that will be welcomed by the European Union and other democratic nations.