Democratic Society Congress
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The Democratic Society Congress (, ) is a pro-Kurdish NGO favouring the implementation of
Democratic Confederalism Democratic confederalism (), also known as Kurdish communalism, Öcalanism, or Apoism, is a political concept theorized by Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Öcalan about a system of democratic self-organization with the features o ...
in Turkish politics. Its foundation congress was held on 26–29 October 2007.


Structure

It has 2 co-chairs, a chairman and a chairwoman, a general assembly with 501 delegates, an executive council of 21 members and several committees. 40% of the delegates of the general assembly are represented by labour unions, civil society organizations and political parties, 40% are representatives from local assemblies. The congress meets approximately every three months to discuss the resolutions which come from the distinct committees. The DTK has assemblies in several administrative subdivisions like in districts, cities, villages and neighborhoods. For each street in a neighborhood, there should exist a commune. These are then followed by assemblies in their respective neighborhood, town, city or region. Each commune is independent in their decision making process but is still in a relationship with their respective neighborhood council which coordinates the decisions in the different communes. The DTK has an executive committee of 5 members, a coordination council with 13 members and a permanent assembly of 101 delegates. Several committees are formed by the DTK. * Economy commission * Women's commission * Ecology and Local Government commission * Youth commission * Faith commission *Health * Diplomacy commission * Status and Law commission * Art and Cultural commission * Science commission *Human Rights commission *Political Affairs Commission


Ideology

On 14 July 2011 it announced its support for Democratic Autonomy after having held an extraordinary congress in
Diyarbakır Diyarbakır is the largest Kurdish-majority city in Turkey. It is the administrative center of Diyarbakır Province. Situated around a high plateau by the banks of the Tigris river on which stands the historic Diyarbakır Fortress, it is ...
with 850 participants. The DTK is also active in the solution finding process for the
Kurdish–Turkish conflict Kurdish nationalism, Kurdish nationalist uprisings have periodically occurred in Turkey, beginning with the Turkish War of Independence and the consequent transition from the Ottoman Empire to the modern Turkish state and continuing to the pre ...
in Turkey and issued a proposal for a political solution in December 2015. According to this proposal it was supported the idea of issuing a new constitution after which Turkey would be structured into several democratic autonomous regions represented in the
Grand National Assembly of Turkey The Grand National Assembly of Turkey ( ), usually referred to simply as the GNAT or TBMM, also referred to as , in Turkish, is the Unicameralism, unicameral Turkey, Turkish legislature. It is the sole body given the legislative prerogatives by ...
.


Prosecution of sympathizers and members

Its members are often prosecuted by the Turkish authorities, and the attendance of events organized by the DTK can be viewed as a reason of prosecution as was the case for
Evrensel ''Evrensel'' () is a Turkish daily newspaper. History and profile ''Evrensel'' was founded on 7 June 1995. The issues captured and written are from a socialist perspective. The paper is different from other Turkish newspapers in that it present ...
writer Yusuf Karataş. Also the attendance of a DTK congress as a non member can be viewed as a reason for prosecution according to the DTK. Numerous raids were conducted at the delegates houses that were on the list which was confiscated during a search in October 2018. Also,
Leyla Güven Leyla Güven (born 6 May 1964, Cihanbeyli, Konya Province, Konya, Turkey) is a Kurdish politician and Peoples' Democratic Party (Turkey), HDP MP for Hakkari (electoral district), Hakkari, co-chair of the Democratic Society Congress (DTK) and form ...
, received a demand to resign from the post of co-chair of the DTK by the Turkish authorities. Despite the legal existence of the DTK, membership in the DTK was deemed as an evidence of being a member in a criminal organization in the indictment of the closure case of the pro-Kurdish HDP.


Leaders

{, class="wikitable" , +Co-Chairs of the DTK ! colspan="2" , Co-Chairs !Term , - , Yüksel Genç ,
Hatip Dicle Mehmet Hatip Dicle (born 1955, Diyarbakir, Turkey), is a Kurds, Kurdish politician from Turkey. He was a member of the Democracy Party, then of the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP). Early life and education Dicle grew up in a Kurds, Kurdish fam ...
, 2007–2010 , - ,
Aysel Tuğluk Aysel Tuğluk (; born 17 July 1965 in Elâzığ, Turkey) is a Kurdish politician from Turkey and was a founding member of the Democratic Society Party (DTP) in Turkey. Aysel Tuğluk is currently imprisoned at the Kocaeli F-Type Prison, located n ...
,
Ahmet Türk Ahmet Türk (born 2 July 1942, in Derik, Turkey, Derik, Mardin Province, Mardin, Turkey) is a Kurds in Turkey, Kurdish politician from the Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party). He has been a member of the Grand National Assembly of T ...
, 2010–2014 , - , Selma Irmak ,
Hatip Dicle Mehmet Hatip Dicle (born 1955, Diyarbakir, Turkey), is a Kurds, Kurdish politician from Turkey. He was a member of the Democracy Party, then of the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP). Early life and education Dicle grew up in a Kurds, Kurdish fam ...
, 2014–2016 , - ,
Leyla Güven Leyla Güven (born 6 May 1964, Cihanbeyli, Konya Province, Konya, Turkey) is a Kurdish politician and Peoples' Democratic Party (Turkey), HDP MP for Hakkari (electoral district), Hakkari, co-chair of the Democratic Society Congress (DTK) and form ...
,
Hatip Dicle Mehmet Hatip Dicle (born 1955, Diyarbakir, Turkey), is a Kurds, Kurdish politician from Turkey. He was a member of the Democracy Party, then of the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP). Early life and education Dicle grew up in a Kurds, Kurdish fam ...
, 2016–2017 , - ,
Leyla Güven Leyla Güven (born 6 May 1964, Cihanbeyli, Konya Province, Konya, Turkey) is a Kurdish politician and Peoples' Democratic Party (Turkey), HDP MP for Hakkari (electoral district), Hakkari, co-chair of the Democratic Society Congress (DTK) and form ...
,
Berdan Öztürk Berdan Öztürk (born 1 May 1980 in Tutak) is a Turkish politician of Kurdish descent who is from the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), who has served as a Member of Parliament for the electoral district of Ağrı since 7 June 2015. Early lif ...
, 2017


References

Turkish Kurdish organizations