The Democracy Party (, DEP, Kurmanji: Partiya Demokrasiyê) was a pro- Kurdish political party in

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

founded on the 7 May 1993.

History

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 ...

, the former chairman of the

People's Labor Party The People's Labour Party (, HEP), sometimes translated as the People's Work Party, was a pro- Kurdish political party in Turkey. History It was founded on 7 June 1990 by seven members of the Turkish Grand National Assembly expelled from the ...

(HEP) and most of the former MPs of the HEP joined the party after its first party congress on the 27 June 1993. As the first party chair was elected Yaşar Kaya. The party decided to launch a peace campaign focused on the Turkish Kurdish conflict which would take place from the 2 August to the 1 September 1993. The campaign was prohibited by the Turkish authorities and the events that have been planned 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 ...

and

Batman Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...

were canceled.Cigerli, Sabri; Saout, Didier Le (2005). p.190 And on the 17 September 1993 Kaya was arrested due to his participation at public event in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

as well as the congress of the

Kurdistan Democratic Party The Kurdistan Democratic Party (), usually abbreviated as KDP or PDK, is the ruling Political party, party in Iraqi Kurdistan and the senior partner in the Kurdistan Regional Government. It was founded in 1946 in Mahabad in Iranian Kurdistan. ...

(KDP) in

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

. He was released on the 8 December of the same year and Kaya fled to Germany. On the 12 December 1993Cigerli, Sabri; Saout, Didier Le (2005). p.191

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 ...

was elected the new chairman. Dicle was a known supporter of the PKK and demanded it be viewed as a political party and not a terrorist organization. The party became divided over the issue of the PKK, and two factions - moderate and radical - appeared. Due to the support of Kurdish rights the members of the HEP and DEP came under widespread attacks.

1994 local elections

Between 1991 and 1994, more than 50 of its members were murdered. As a result, the party decided to withdraw from the municipal elections which were planned to take place on 27 March 1994.Cigerli, Sabri; Saout, Didier Le (2005), p.192 The party justified this decision with the casualties, but personal and material the party had to affront during the last 45 days and that several of the candidates which the party put up for the elections withdrew, as they feared for their life.

Ban

On 2 March 1994, the Turkish parliament lifted the immunity of two deputies from the DEP and Orhan Doğan and Hatip Dicle were detained. On 2 April 1994, occurred a deadly attack on the Bazaar in Istanbul for which the PKK did not claim an authorship. The Turkish Government anyway blamed the PKK but also the DEP. In reaction to the attack, the Turkish Prime Minister Tansu Çiller deemed the DEP just a cover for the PKK and called for end of a PKK presence 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 ...

. Until 16 June 1994, six party members were imprisoned and the party was banned. On 8 August 1994, the deputies Orhan Doğan, Leyla Zana, Selim Sadak and

were sentenced to 15 years in prison. They were released in June 2009 following a decision of Turkey's Appeal Court, after Turkey experienced some pressure from the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...

, asking for their release and condemning their imprisonment. The DEP was succeeded by the

People's Democracy Party People's Democracy Party (, HADEP) was a Kurdish political party in Turkey. Murat Bozlak founded the party on 11 May 1994. The party disbanded in 2003. History Bozlak's first chairmanship Party founder and attorney Murat Bozlak was the part ...

(HADEP), established in May 1994. In December 2002, the

European Court of Human Rights The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The court hears applications alleging that a co ...

held DEP's dissolution to be contrary to Article 11 of the

European Convention on Human Rights The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR; formally the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms) is a Supranational law, supranational convention to protect human rights and political freedoms in Europe. Draf ...

(freedom of association) and ordered Turkey to pay €200,000 which shall be distributed among the parties members.ECtHR judgment on application no. 25141/94
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Footnotes

References

* {{Authority control Kurdish nationalist political parties Social democratic parties in Kurdistan 1993 establishments in Turkey 1994 disestablishments in Turkey Article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights Banned Kurdish parties in Turkey Banned socialist parties Defunct social democratic parties in Turkey European Court of Human Rights cases involving Turkey Political parties established in 1993 Political parties disestablished in 1994 HEP tradition