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Turkey: Situation and treatment of members, supporters and sympathizers of the Democratic Society Party (DTP) (2006-2007)

Democratic Society Party (DTP)

In January 1999, members of the People's Democracy Party (Halkin Demokrasi Partisi, HADEP) reconstituted themselves as the Democratic People's Party (Demokratik Halk Partisi, DEHAP) (PHW 2007 Oct. 2006, 1261). On 9 November 2005, DEHAP members pre-emptively launched the Democratic Society Party (Demokratik Toplum Partisi, DTP) out of fear that DEHAP would be banned; as a result, all DEHAP mayors, members and leaders joined the DTP, and DEHAP was officially dissolved in December 2005 (ibid.). The DTP is led by co-presidents Ahmet Turk and Aysel Tugluk (ibid.; AFP 6 July 2006).

The DTP is a pro-Kurdish party, described by the Turkish Daily News as being on the "extreme left" (13 June 2006). According to Agence France-Presse (AFP), DTP leaders are often accused of colluding with what is considered a Kurdish separatist group, the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) (6 July 2006). In April 2006, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that he would refuse any dialogue with the DTP until it publicly denounces the PKK (AFP 16 July 2006; ibid. 6 Apr. 2007), which has been accused of being a "terrorist" organization (ibid 6 July 2006). Dawn reports that the DTP renounces violence and advocates change through democracy (11 May 2007).

Treatment of DTP members

Media, human rights and government sources have reported numerous arrests and convictions of DTP leaders for verbal or written statements (AFP 6 July 2006; IHD 23 Feb. 2007; US 6 Mar. 2007, Sec. 3). An article published on the Web site EurasiaNet in May 2007 reports that "[i]n recent weeks, the Democratic Society Party (DTP) has endured a crackdown, with dozens of its top leaders arrested or jailed and several of its offices raided by the police" (EurasiaNet 4 May 2007), paralleling the dozens of raids and hundreds of arrests that occurred in 2006 (US 6 Mar. 2007, Sec. 3).

According to Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2006,

Jandarma and police regularly harassed DTP members through verbal threats, arbitrary detentions at rallies, and detention at checkpoints. Security forces also regularly harassed villagers they believed were sympathetic to DTP. Although security forces released most detainees within a short period, many faced trials, usually for supporting an illegal organization or inciting separatism. (ibid.)

In July 2006, AFP reported that Ankara's public prosecutor accused DTP leaders Ahmet Turk and Aysel Tugluk of distributing Kurdish-language leaflets regarding the imprisonment of PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan (AFP 6 July 2006). In February 2007, they were found guilty of [translation] "praising criminals" and sentenced to 18 months' imprisonment (ibid. 26 Feb. 2007; EurasiaNet 4 May 2007). On 6 March 2007, Ahmet Turk received an additional six month sentence for using a Turkish term of respect when referring to Abdullah Ocalan, because this was considered a sign of approval of the PKK leader (ibid.; Reuters 6 Mar. 2007).

Amnesty International (AI) reports that in October 2006 a trial began involving 56 mayors belonging to the DTP, who were accused by the Turkish government of supporting the PKK after they had sent a letter to the Danish Prime Minister requesting that the Denmark-based Kurdish television station, Roj TV, not be shut down (AI 2007; EurasiaNet 4 May 2007). As of April 2007, the trial was ongoing, and the convicted mayors could expect up to 15 years' imprisonment if convicted (Anadolu Agency 4 Apr. 2007; RSF 9 Apr. 2007; AFP 6 Apr. 2007). Further information could not be found among the sources consulted by the IRB.

In February 2007, the Kurdish mayor of Turkey's Karapinar district, Zulkuf Karatekin, was fined 3,000 lira [approximately CAD 2,500 (Canada 27 Feb. 2006)] for allowing members of the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP) to use a municipal vehicle to plant seedlings to mark the birthday of Abdullah Ocalan, the outlawed leader of the PKK (AFP 27 Feb. 2007).

In March 2007, Turkish police reportedly arrested 27 persons during a demonstration organized by the DTP in March 2007 to celebrate International Women's Day, which turned into a march in support of the PKK and its leader, Abdullah Ocalan (ibid. 10 Mar. 2007).

Also in March 2007, a court sentenced the DTP-affiliated mayor of Hakkari to seven years in jail for publicly denying that the PKK is a "terrorist group" and saying that he was proud to be Kurdish (EurasiaNet 4 May 2007).

In April 2007, AFP briefly noted, without giving detail, that a court had sentenced eight DTP members to three years and nine months in prison for aiding the PKK (AFP 6 Apr. 2007).

The Ardahan Criminal Court sentenced a DTP representative to 10 months in prison in May 2007, after he was accused of making a speech in which he "denigrated and insulted" Turkey's parliament and general staff (Today's Zaman 7 May 2007).

Also in May 2007, Turkey's Appeals Court Prosecutor ordered that the DTP cancel the membership of 116 members, including prominent leader Leyla Zana, because of their criminal records (AP 17 May 2007). If it does not comply, the DTP has been told that it may be shut down, in the same way that four pro-Kurdish parties were banned in the past (ibid.).

DTP and Turkish politics

The DTP is not currently represented in parliament because it has never succeeded in obtaining more than 10 percent of the national vote, the necessary benchmark to be elected to parliament (EurasiaNet 4 May 2007) However, a 2007 poll found that it was supported by approximately 5 percent of the Turkish electorate (ibid.). The DTP's predecessor party obtained over 6 percent of the popular vote in Turkey's 2002 elections (AP 17 May 2007; EIU 22 May 2007), including 56 percent of the votes in the southeast region (EurasiaNet 4 May 2007).

To increase its chances of obtaining parliamentary representation, the DTP announced in May 2007 that it will field independent candidates during the 22 July 2007 elections, since these candidates are not bound by the 10 percent threshold (Middle East Times 9 May 2007; Turkish Daily News 11 May 2007). By doing so, the DTP has calculated that it may be able to garner between 20 and 35 parliamentary seats (ibid.; Today's Zaman 11 May 2007). However, the Turkish government subsequently passed legislation that would make it more challenging for independent candidates to bypass the 10 percent threshold (Dawn 11 May 2007; AP 17 May 2007) by making independent candidates' names difficult to find on the new ballots (ibid.; Turkish Daily News 12 May 2007).

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Agence France-Presse (AFP). 6 April 2007. "Huit politiciens kurdes condamnés à la prison pour avoir aidé les séparatistes." (NEXIS)
_____. 10 March 2007. "Turquie: 27 manifestants pro-PKK arrêtés lors de manifestations." (NEXIS)
_____. 27 February 2007. "Kurdish Mayor Fined in Turkey for Pro-Rebel Gesture." (NEXIS)
_____. 26 February 2007. "Turquie: Deux dirigeants pro-Kurdes condamnés pour des tracts." (NEXIS)
_____. 16 July 2006. "Turquie: la réponse aux violences dans le sud-est sera dure (Erdogan)." (NEXIS)
_____. 6 July 2006. "Deux politiciens kurdes inculpés pour distribution de tracts en kurde." (NEXIS)
_____. 23 June 2006. "Turkey's Main Kurdish Party to Convene Congress." (NEXIS)

Amnesty International (AI). 2007. "Turkey." Amnesty International Report 2007. [Accessed 24 May 2007]

Anadolu Agency [Ankara]. 4 April 2007. "15 Years of Imprisonment Asked for 53 DTP Executives." Turkey – Press Scan. (Factiva)

Associated Press (AP). 17 May 2007. Selcan Hacaoglu. "Turkish Prosecutor Asks Kurdish Party to End Membership of Former Lawmakers, Others." (Factiva)

Canada. 27 February 2007. Bank of Canada. "Currency Conversion Results." [Accessed 25 May 2007]

Dawn [Karachi]. 11 May 2007. "Parliament Backs Direct Presidential Poll in Turkey." [Accessed 14 May 2007]

Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). 22 May 2007. "Turkey Risk: Political Stability Risk." (Factiva)

EurasiaNet. 4 May 2007. Yigal Schleifer. "Turkey: Kurdish Party Experiences Crackdown, Mulls Tactical Changes Ahead of Election." [Accessed 14 May 2007]

Human Rights Association of Turkey (IHD). 23 February 2007. "Decision of Arrest about Hilmi Aydogdu is Unacceptable." [Accessed 14 May 2007]

Middle East Times [Cairo]. 9 May 2007. "Turkey's Kurdish Party to Field Independent Candidates." [Accessed 9 May 2007]

Political Handbook of the World 2007 (PHW 2007). October 2006. "Turkey." Edited by Arthur Banks, Thomas Muller and William Overstreet. Washington, DC: CQ Press.

Reuters. 6 March 2007. "Turquie – Peine de prison pour avoir donné du 'monsieur' à Ocalan." (NEXIS)

Reporters Without Borders (RSF). 9 April 2007. "Government Tries to Block Pro-Kurdish Television Channel; 56 Mayors Face Prosecution for Opposing These Efforts." (International Freedom of Expression eXchange – IFEX) [Accessed 13 April 2007]

Today's Zaman [Istanbul]. 11 May 2007. Okay Gonensin. "A DTP in the Parliament." [Accessed 14 May 2007]
_____. 7 May 2007. "Former Deputy Mahmut Alinak Sentenced Under Article 301." [Accessed 14 May 2007]

Turkish Daily News [Ankara]. 12 May 2007. Mehmet Ali Birand. "Barring DTP Will Not Take Us Far." [Accessed 14 May 2007]
_____. 11 May 2007. Mehmet Ali Birand. "The DTP Goes Out of the PKK's Field of Influence." [Accessed 14 May 2007]
_____. 13 June 2006. "Voters Shift to the Right." (Factiva)

United States (US). 6 March 2007. Department of State. "Turkey." Country Reports on Human Rights Practices – 2006. [Accessed 14 May 2007]

Additional Sources Consulted

Oral sources: The Human Rights Foundation of Turkey and the Organization for Human Rights and Solidarity for Oppressed People (Mazlumder) did not respond to requests for information within the time constraints of this Response.

Internet sites, including: British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), The Economist [London], European Country of Origin Information (ecoi.net), Freedom House, Human Rights Foudation of Turkey, International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights (IHF), Organization for Human Rights and Solidarity for Oppressed People (Mazlumder), World News Connection (WNC).

Topics: Political parties, Kurd,