Udenrigsudvalget 2021-22
URU Alm.del Bilag 45
Offentligt
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Debate Pack
CDP-0172 (2021)
By John Curtis,
Nigel Walker,
Julie Gill
28 October 2021
Kurdish political representation and
equality in Turkey
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2
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Background
Press and media articles
PQs
Debates
Early Day Motions
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11
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Kurdish political representation and equality in Turkey
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Background
A Westminster Hall debate on Kurdish political representation and equality in
Turkey has been scheduled for Tuesday 2 November 2021, from 9.30-11:00am.
The debate has been initiated by Lloyd Russell-Moyle MP.
Kurdish Political representation
Kurds in Turkey are diverse in terms of political affiliation, language and
cultural and religious identity. Of current political parties in Turkey that are
perceived as predominantly Kurdish, the largest is the People’s Democratic
Party (HDP) and its affiliate the Democratic Regions Party (DBP), which
competes only in local elections. The HDP is often described as “left wing”,
and the HDP and DBP are widely seen as influenced to some degree by the
anti-capitalist ideology of Abdullah Öcalan, the founder of the principal
Kurdish armed insurgent group in Turkey, the PKK.
The HDP espouses liberal policies on equalities, and
according to BBC
Monitoring,
describes its party programme as for "labour, equality, freedom,
peace and justice", on its official Turkish language website.
However, Kurds in Turkey hold diverse political views, and do not only support
political parties said to represent Kurdish interests. Large numbers of Kurds
support the ruling Justice & Development Party (AKP). The
Guardian reported
in December 2020
that a recent Metropoll survey found that 29% of Kurds
would vote for the AKP, compared with 32% for HDP. Kurdish politicians have
served in the Cabinets of AKP Governments.
Parties representing Kurdish interests have often been accused by the Turkish
state of having links to and standing as proxies for armed insurgent groups
such as the PKK. This has led to many of them being banned, which the
Balkans Insight news site describes as
“the routine fate of Kurdish parties in
Turkey” and “until now, 23 Kurdish parties have been closed on various
allegations, such as terrorism and ethnic separatism”.
For example, the HDP’s predecessor, the Democratic Society Party, DTP, was
closed in 2009 by order of Turkey’s Constitutional Court. It ruled that the DTP
had become “the focal point of activities against the indivisible unity of the
state, the country and the nation”.
The HDP now also faces the threat of legal closure. In June 2021, the
Constitutional Court
accepted an indictment
by Bekir Şahin, the chief
prosecutor of the Supreme Court of Appeals, which called for the closure of
the HDP and also demands that 451 party members be banned from politics.
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Kurdish political representation and equality in Turkey
The Kurdish Workers’ Party (PKK) and violence
The Kurdish Workers’ Party, or PKK, has fought a long war with the Turkish
state for independence or autonomy of the Kurdish region of Turkey. The
leader of the PKK, Abdullah Öcalan, launched the guerrilla campaign in 1984,
but was captured in Kenya in 1999 and imprisoned in Turkey. Shortly
afterwards he announced from prison an end to the armed campaign against
the Turkish Government.
Subsequently, the PKK introduced a five-year unilateral ceasefire and took a
number of steps to try to change its image, calling on the Government to
involve it in the country’s political process, allow more cultural rights for
Kurds and release imprisoned PKK members including Öcalan. But these
demands were not met to the PKK’s satisfaction and the ceasefire ended in
2004. During the ceasefire most PKK operatives moved to the Kandil
Mountains in the autonomous Kurdish region of Iraq.
The PKK is proscribed as a terrorist organisation by the
UK,
the
European
Union,
and the
United States.
In 2005, the Kurdish DTP, called on the PKK to restore its ceasefire, without
success. In December 2009 the DTP was outlawed, leading most of its
Members of Parliament to transfer to another Kurdish party, the Peace and
Democracy Party (BDP).
In 2007, Turkey carried out airstrikes against PKK bases in northern Iraq but
attacks continued. The Turkish Government and the PKK continued to pursue
a political settlement in the following few years but without dramatic
progress. Another Kurdish group, the DTK, or Democratic Society Congress,
started a campaign of civil disobedience.
After its
victory at the 2011 election
the ruling AKP of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan,
far from addressing Kurdish claims, increased his nationalist rhetoric, in line
with its generally more authoritarian and conservative Islamist tone. A two-
and-a-half-year ceasefire
collapsed in July 2015,
with the PKK resuming its
insurgency. There have been no significant peace talks since then, and the
conflict entered a new more violent phase, with
almost 3,000 lives lost
between July 2015 and July 2017.
Kurdish independence or autonomy?
The Foreign Office
submitted evidence
to a 2018 Foreign Affairs Select
Committee inquiry on ‘Kurdish
aspirations and the interests of the UK’,
that
included observations on how views on Kurdish independence have
developed:
[…] While the PKK’s original objective was to achieve Kurdish
independence from Turkey, since the 1990s this objective has changed.
Öcalan now claims to advocate ‘democratic autonomy’ for Kurds, with a
focus on equal cultural and political rights within the Turkish state rather
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than secession. The HDP / BDP have supported the “democratic
autonomy” vision, with a particular declared focus on respect for
minority rights.
Crackdown on the HDP 2015-16
BBC Monitoring also submitted
evidence
to the inquiry, in which it stated that
both the HDP and BDP quickly became popular in Turkey’s Kurdish-majority
southeast before peace talks collapsed between the Kurdish PKK and the
Turkish state, after which heavy armed clashes followed in the Kurdish cities
for several months in 2015 and 2016.
According to BBC Monitoring, the government at the time accused local HDP
politicians of collaborating with the PKK during the clashes, and that since
then the “HDP and the BDP have since suffered from the effects of government
measures taken on the basis of “anti-terrorism” legislation”. During this
period HDP co-leaders, Selahattin Demirtas and Figen Yuksekdag, were
imprisoned along with other party officials and thousands of HDP and DBP
activists.
The Turkish embassy in London
submitted evidence to the enquiry also,
stating:
The main issue at hand is the threat posed by the PKK terrorism. In
Turkey, Kurdish-origined citizens enjoy the same rights and privileges as
any other citizen with a different background. Kurds in Turkey are on
integral part of society, and significantly contribute to the prosperity and
diversity of the Turkish society. They can freely speak their language and
enjoy Kurdish TV and radio broadcasts, both private and state-owned.
However, the PKK not only poses a threat for the Turkish people, but also
constitutes a malign force with its delusional worldview for the Kurdish
people that it claims to represent. For decades, it caused an
unimaginable human cost and suffering in Turkey.
The
US State Department’s 2020 Human Rights Report on Turkey
states that
“nearly all private Kurdish-language newspapers, television channels, and
radio stations remained closed on national security grounds under
government decrees”. Human Rights Watch, in its
2020 report on Turkey
states that “the Erdoğan government refuses to distinguish between the PKK
and the democratically elected Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP)”.
HDP national political representation and electoral
success
In the 2014 Presidential elections, won by Recep Tayyip Erdoğan with around
52% of the vote, the HDP candidate, Selahattin Demirtas, took about 9% of
the vote.
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Kurdish political representation and equality in Turkey
In the 2015 Parliamentary elections, the HDP managed to clear the high
threshold required of parties to enter the Turkish Grand National Assembly
(its unicameral parliament) – 10% of the vote. The HDP gained 80 seats, the
first time it had won seats in a national election (in the 2011 elections it fielded
independent candidates). It took part in the snap elections held in November
of the same year and won 59 seats out of the 550.
Presidential and Parliamentary elections took place in June 2018, these
elections were the first to be held under Turkey’s
new constitutional
arrangements,
that turned Turkey’s Parliamentary system into a Presidential
one.
The elections took place under a state of emergency that was originally
imposed in July 2016 after a military coup was launched against President
Erdoğan.
While polls indicated Mr Erdoğan might struggle to achieve the more than
50% of the vote required for a first-round victory, the President gained a
majority of votes - 52.5%. Selahattin Demirtas, the HDP Presidential
candidate, gained 8.4% of the vote, despite having been imprisoned by the
state since November 2016.
Independent election observers from
the OSCE
the
Council of Europe
stated
that the state of emergency did not allow a level playing field for opposition
candidates. Opposition candidates
complained
of media blackouts of their
campaigns, and questioned the integrity of the state body – the RTUK which is
supposed enforce Turkey’s strict laws on fair media coverage during
elections.
It wasn’t clear if the Kurdish HDP (People’s Democratic Party) would clear the
10% threshold, but despite curbs on their activities they performed relatively
well, winning 11.7% of the vote, giving them 67 seats out of a total of 600.
Detention of Selahattin Demirtas and European Court
of Human Rights rulings
Turkey, as a member of the
Council of Europe
and having ratified the
European Convention of Human Rights, is subject to rulings from the
European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR).
In November 2018 the ECtHR heard the case of Selahattin Demirtas, former
co-chairman of the Kurdish HDP party, who was imprisoned two years
previously on “terrorism-related” charges, which he denied, after his
immunity as member of parliament was removed. Mr Demirtas has still not
faced trial.
The ECHR
found
that that multiple extensions of the pre-trial detention of the
former leader had “served a political agenda”. The court ruled that decisions
to keep Mr Demirtas behind bars during two “crucial” elections had “pursued
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Kurdish political representation and equality in Turkey
the predominant ulterior purpose of stifling pluralism and limiting freedom of
political debate”. The ECtHR demanded that Turkey “take all necessary
measures to put an end to [Mr Demirtas’s] pre-trial detention”.
Some two-weeks later a
Turkish court rejected an appeal to release Mr
Demirtas,
despite the ECtHR ruling. The ECtHR then referred the case to its
Grand Chamber.
In June 2020, the Constitutional Court, the highest court in Turkey,
issued a
judgment
finding unanimously that the period of time Mr Demirtaş had been
in pre-trial detention violated the Turkish Constitution. Prosecutors responded
by launching a new investigation into the politician and requested his arrest
once again before he could be freed.
In December 2020, the Grand Chamber of the ECtHR ruled Turkey must
immediately release Mr Demirtas,
saying his pre-trial detention since
November 2016
had sent “a dangerous message to the entire population”
that sharply narrowed free democratic debate.
This ruling has also been ignored and Selahattin Demirtas remains behind
bars.
Arrest of other HDP MPs
The
Inter-Parliamentary Union,
the global organization of national
parliaments, looked at the detention of Turkish politicians, particularly those
from the HDP in a
2021 briefing.
It stated that since 2018, over 30
parliamentarians have been sentenced to terms of imprisonment, and that
since 4 November 2016, “scores of parliamentarians have been detained and
others have gone into exile”. Thirteen parliamentarians are currently in
prison, including the former HDP co-chairs, Mr. Selahattin Demirtaş and Ms.
Figen Yüksekdağ.
Thirteen HDP members of parliament have lost their parliamentary mandates
in recent years, largely due to the fact that their prison sentences became
final, most recently in the cases of Ms. Leyla Güven and Mr. Musa
Farisoğulları in June 2020. Some of those detained should have been
protected by Parliamentary immunity after they were elected in the 2018
Parliamentary elections, but the criminal cases against them were reportedly
not suspended, “with the justification that they were prosecuted with
terrorism-related charges”.
The IPU also presented evidence that had been supplied to them by the
Turkish Government, that explained the actions they had taken against HDP
politicians.
The Turkish authorities justified the legality of the measures taken against the
HDP parliamentarians, invoking “the independence of the judiciary, the need
to respond to security and terrorism threats, and legislation adopted under
the state of emergency”.
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Kurdish political representation and equality in Turkey
The authorities asserted to the IPU that:
There is no “HDP witch-hunt” in Turkey; that women parliamentarians
are not being specifically targeted; that there is no Kurdish issue in
Turkey and no current conflict in south-eastern Turkey; that Turkey is
facing a terrorism issue at multiple levels involving the PKK and its
“extensions”; that the HDP has never publicly denounced the violent
activities of the PKK; that HDP members, including members of
parliament, have made many statements in support of the PKK and their
“extensions”; that HDP members have attended funerals of PKK suicide
bombers and called for people to take to the streets, which has resulted
in violent incidents with civilian casualties; that this does not fall within
the acceptable limits of freedom of expression; that the Constitutional
Court has reached such conclusions in several cases and, in other cases,
domestic remedies have not yet been exhausted; and that the
independence of the judiciary and the rule of law in Turkey must be
respected.
Removal of local mayors and members of municipal
assemblies
In February 2017, the United Nation’s Office of the High Commissioner for
Human Rights (OHCHR) published
a report looking at the effect of the
government’s security operations in Turkey’s South-East region
between July
2015 to December 2016. The OHCHR state that in September 2016, using
emergency powers adopted after the attempted coup, the Government
adopted a decree permitting it to appoint “trustees” in lieu of elected mayors,
deputy mayors or members of municipal councils suspended on charges of
terrorism.
The report says that by the end of December 2016, reportedly 69 municipal
co-chairs of the pro-Kurdish Democratic Regions Party (DBP) had been
arrested, 58 had been dismissed and most had been replaced with “trustees”,
in 50 municipalities or around 50 per cent of all municipalities held by DBP.
The removal of HDP Mayors continues. According to Human Rights Watch’s
Events of 2020 report on Turkey
since August 2019, the Interior Ministry has
justified the removal of 48 elected Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) mayors on
the basis that they face criminal investigations and prosecutions for links with
the PKK, they were all replaced with “trustees”. The report said that at time,
19 mayors remained in pretrial detention.
A February 2020
HRW investigation,
looked at 18 case studies of HDP Mayors
who had been detained. The report states that the courts rely on three main
kinds of “evidence” as grounds for pretrial detention: “vague testimony by
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witnesses; the mayors’ attendance at political meetings, rallies,
demonstrations, and funerals of militants; and their social media postings, in
some cases from several years earlier”.
In most cases, HRW report, the identity of the witnesses is protected.
Witnesses “allege that the mayors are associated with certain activist
organizations that operated without hindrance for years but that the
authorities now regard as PKK-linked”; or they “assert in a generalized and
vague way that that the mayors undertook unspecified activities for the
armed group”.
HRW state that in many cases, the courts simply accept that the prosecutor’s
evidence meets the criteria for pretrial detention of reasonable suspicion of
“membership of a terrorist organization.” This is a “catalogue offense” in
Turkey’s Criminal Procedure Code, which means courts are automatically
permitted to rule that suspects under investigation for this crime can be held
in pretrial detention.
Mayors are not the only local politicians targeted. According to the
European
Commission 2020 Turkey country report,
the government further removed 68
HDP members of municipal assemblies in 2019, 15 of which were arrested. In
metropolitan municipalities alone, 214 elected municipal assembly members
were suspended. Some 1,870 HDP members were arrested and 206
imprisoned in 2019 alone.
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Press and media articles
The following is a selection of press and media articles relevant to this
debate.
Please note: the Library is not responsible for either the views or accuracy of
external content.
Turkey’s Kurdish obsession explains Putin’s gains and US strains
Brookings Institution
Ömer Taşpınar
13 October 2021
Erdogan says latest Kurdish YPG attack on Turkish police is 'final straw'
Reuters
11 October 2021
MHP objects to debate on Kurdish issue
Hürriyet Daily News
5 October 2021
Pro-Kurdish HDP becomes latest party calling for return to parliamentary
system
Ahval News
27 September 2021
Top court gives another 30 days to HDP for defense
Hürriyet Daily News
2 September 2021
Continued Kurdish Oppression in Turkey
Borgen Magazine
Maddie Youngblood
6 August 2021
Hate crimes against Kurds rise in Turkey
Jerusalem Post
Seth J. Frantzman
31 July 2021
PACE Turkey monitors welcome the release of opposition MP Ömer Faruk
Gergerlioğlu
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
7 July 2021
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Kurdish activists remain resilient despite Erdogan’s crackdown
Financial Times
Ayla Jean Yackley
12 May 2021
Turkey details Human Rights Action Plan in Official Gazette
Hürriyet Daily News
30 April 2021
EU ‘deeply concerned’ over crackdown on pro-Kurdish party, Turkey
rebuffs criticism
Euractiv
19 March 2021
Erdogan is seeking to crush Turkey’s number three political party. Here’s
why
The Independent
Borzou Daragahi
18 March 2021
Turkey: Free Politician after European Court Ruling
Human Rights Watch
4 March 2021
Erdoğan promises reforms in 2021, but human rights and press freedom
are tough nuts to crack
Euronews
Michael Daventry
1 January 2021
Turkey: the rise and fall of the Kurdish party that threatened Erdoğan
The Guardian
Bethan McKernan
27 December 2020
The bloody consequences of Turkey's clashes with the Kurds
Index on Censorship
Baris Altintas
18 November 2020
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PQs
Turkey: Kurds
9 Sep 2021 | 40585
Asked by: John McDonnell
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development
Affairs, if he will make representations to his counterpart in the Turkish
Government to help prevent the further escalation of Turkish alleged
persecution and inciting of violence against Kurdish people in the Kurdish
regions of Turkey, Iraq and Syria.
Answered by: Wendy Morton | Foreign, Commonwealth and Development
Office
The UK continues to follow closely the situations in northern Iraq and Syria.
We reiterate the importance of dialogue and cooperation between Iraq and
Turkey to combat terrorism, ensure regional security and protect civilians.
The UK respects Iraqi sovereignty and acknowledges Turkey's security
concerns regarding the Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK), a proscribed terrorist
group. We believe Turkey has a legitimate right to defend itself against the
PKK, whose attacks we condemn as we condemn all terrorism. In Turkey, we
continue to urge an end to PKK violence and a return to a peace process. As in
any conflict, civilian casualties should be avoided and human rights fully
protected. In Syria, we welcome the fact that the ceasefires in north-east and
north-west Syria broadly continue to hold, and we continue to call on all sides
in the Syrian conflict to abide by their obligations under international law.
Turkey: Kurds
9 Sep 2021 | 40584
Asked by: John McDonnell
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development
Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of
recent reports that the Turkish Government is seeking to shut down the pro-
Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party in Turkey; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by: Wendy Morton | Foreign, Commonwealth and Development
Office
We have made it clear to Turkey that we expect the government to undertake
any legal processes or actions against opposition parties, as well as human
rights defenders and journalists, fairly, transparently and with full respect for
the rule of law. We are aware that the Turkish Government is seeking to ban
the People's Democratic Party (HDP). Our Embassy meets regularly with the
HDP leadership, as it does with other opposition parties, to discuss their
concerns, including the arrests of HDP MPs. We will continue to engage
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closely with Turkey, including at Ministerial level, to insist that it fulfils its
international legal obligations to secure the human rights of all people,
regardless of their legitimate political affiliations, particularly in the areas of
freedom of expression and assembly, press freedom and the treatment of
detainees. We will hold Turkey to account using established international
mechanisms, and look for opportunities to raise these issues with our
international partners.
Turkey: Kurds
9 Sep 2021 | 40581
Asked by: John McDonnell
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development
Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of
reports of the attack and murder of a Kurdish family on 30 July 2021 in the
Konya region of Turkey; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by: Wendy Morton | Foreign, Commonwealth and Development
Office
The murder in July of seven members of the Dedeoğulları family was shocking
and deeply saddening. I understand that there were several arrests in the
days following the murders, and that police investigations are continuing. We
also note claims in the Turkish media that the attack was racially motivated.
We expect the Turkish authorities to conduct a rigorous investigation into the
killings.
Turkey: Politics and Government
27 Jul 2021 | 36565
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development
Affairs, what assessment he has made of the extent to which democratic
freedoms have been curtailed in Turkey since the 2016 coup d’etat attempt.
Answering member: Wendy Morton | Foreign, Commonwealth and
Development Office
We are aware that certain measures adopted under a state of emergency
following the attempted coup in 2016 have since been enshrined in law. These
include pre-trial detention, freedom of expression and restrictions on civil
society. It is important that the long-term response to the 2016 coup attempt
is lawful, measured and democratic. The right to freedom of expression
should be protected and Turkey's international obligations upheld. I raised
human rights with my Turkish counterpart during my visit to Turkey in June.
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Turkey: Kurds
20 Mar 2020 | 29849
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what
discussions he has had with his Turkish counterpart on the recent arrest of
Kurdish human rights lawyers.
Answered by: Wendy Morton | Foreign, Commonwealth and Development
Office
We are concerned by reports of the arrests of Kurdish human rights lawyers.
Ministers and our Ambassador to Turkey regularly emphasise to the Turkish
Government the need to respect human rights, and to support the rule of law.
We will continue to engage the Turkish Government on these issues and be
clear in our expectation that Turkey live up to its human rights obligations,
which is essential to the long-term health of Turkish democracy.
We shall continue to monitor the situation closely and maintain our support
for legitimate and democratic Kurdish groups in Turkey.
Turkey: Kurds
9 Sep 2019 | HL17646
Asked by: Lord Hylton
To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the
government of Turkey about the dismissal of elected mayors and other
officials in Kurdish majority areas of Turkey and the accusations of
malpractice by their replacements.
Answered by: Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon | Foreign, Commonwealth and
Development Office
The decision to appoint state trustees in local municipalities is a decision for
the Turkish Government. Nevertheless, we expect Turkey to undertake any
legal processes against locally elected representatives fairly, transparently
and with full respect for the rule of law. We note the suspension of the mayors
of Mardin, Van and Diyarbakir on 19 August. We are following these ongoing
legal developments closely. Our Ambassador raised this with the Turkish
Deputy Foreign Minister on 22 August.
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4
Debates
Arrest of Opposition Politicians: Turkey
16 Mar 2021 | Westminster Hall | 691 cc109-16WH
Motion that this House has considered arrest of opposition politicians in
Turkey. Agreed to on question.
Turkey: Treatment of Kurds
10 Apr 2019 | Westminster Hall | 658 cc108-15WH
Motion that this House has considered the treatment of Kurds in Turkey.
Agreed to on question.
Turkey
7 Jun 2018 | House of Commons | 642 cc529-57
Motion that this House has considered early elections, human rights and the
political situation in Turkey. Agreed to on question.
Turkey: Human Rights and the Political Situation
9 Mar 2017 | Westminster Hall debate | 622 cc403-24WH
Motion that this House has considered human rights and the political
situation in Turkey. Agreed to on question.
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 URU, Alm.del - 2021-22 - Bilag 45: Henvendelse af 3. november 2021 fra Sammenslutningen af Kurdiske Foreninger i Danmark, FEY-KURD, om demonstration mod mistanke om tyrkisk brug af kemiske våben i Syrien og om det britiske parlaments drøftelse af forbuddet mod PKK
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Kurdish political representation and equality in Turkey
5
Early Day Motions
Suppression of democratic opposition in Turkey
EDM 512 (session 2012-22)
18 October 2021
Lloyd Russell-Moyle
That this House calls on Turkey to end its attacks on democracy and
democratically elected politicians, trade unions, human rights advocates,
journalists, academics, and lawyers; notes the intensifying suppression and
criminalisation of democratic opposition in Turkey by the AKP Government
under President Erdogan; further notes that opposition MPs, particularly HDP
representatives, trade unionists, and advocates for democracy are being
imprisoned through dismantling the rule of law, removal of parliamentary
protections and active intervention in the judicial decisions, the attacks on
women’s rights and the violence used against women protestors; notes that
former co-leader HDP Selahattin Demirtas and activist Osman Kavala remain
in prison despite lack of evidence and successfully appealing the
prosecution’s allegations; and further notes that the significant dismantling
of democratic processes, freedom of speech and fundamental human rights
must cease immediately.
Trial of HDP Leaders in Turkey
EDM 1779 (session 2019-21)
27 April 2021
Alyn Smith
That this House regrets the erosion of democracy which has taken place
under President Erdogan in recent years amid the arrests of elected
politicians and party activists; notes its concern at recent reports that
lawyers defending HDP politicians against charges which include attacking
the integrity of the state have been denied access to the courtroom on
arbitrary and unlawful grounds; further notes that the European Court of
Human Rights has ruled that the pre-trial detention of Selahattin Demirtaş
and other Turkish citizens is unlawful and calls for their immediate release;
recognises that the arrest of HDP parliamentarians is also an attack on the
democratic rights of more than six million citizens of Turkey who voted for
those parliamentarians; commends the work being done by the HDP in
attempting democratic steps towards a peaceful resolution to the Kurdish
question; and calls for the immediate release of those arrested and for the
restoration of full democratic and civil rights for all people in Turkey.
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Commons Library Debate Pack, 28 October 2021
 URU, Alm.del - 2021-22 - Bilag 45: Henvendelse af 3. november 2021 fra Sammenslutningen af Kurdiske Foreninger i Danmark, FEY-KURD, om demonstration mod mistanke om tyrkisk brug af kemiske våben i Syrien og om det britiske parlaments drøftelse af forbuddet mod PKK
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Kurdish political representation and equality in Turkey
Opposition and democracy in Turkey
EDM 1698 (session 2019-21)
25 March 2021
Chris Stephens
That this House is deeply concerned by the legal process underway in Turkey
to shut down the second largest opposition party in Turkey, the People’s
Democratic Party (HDP); notes the case filed by Chief Public Prosecutor Bekir
Sahin in the Constitutional Court, which claims that the HDP aimed to disrupt
the unity and territorial integrity of the State; understands that the attacks on
the HDP are also an attack on the democratic rights of the six million plus
citizens of Turkey who voted for them; commends the work being done by the
HDP in attempting democratic steps towards a peaceful resolution to the
Kurdish question; condemns the Turkish Government for trying to criminalise
the democratic voice of millions of its citizens; calls for the immediate release
of 11 democratically elected former HDP members of Parliament; calls for the
release of the thousands of people imprisoned simply for membership of the
peaceful, political HDP; is further deeply concerned by the withdrawal, in the
same week of Turkey, from the Istanbul Convention, which seeks to protect
women from gender-based violence; and calls on the Government to make
representations to the Turkish authorities to halt the continuing assault on
democracy, the criminalisation of democratic opposition and the assault on
human rights, and to press for a genuine rules-based international
community and for human rights compliance amongst UK trading partners.
Omer Faruk Gergerlioglu – HDP MP Turkey
EDM 1663 (session 2019-21)
18 March 2021
Chris Stephens
This house is deeply concerned that Turkish HDP MP Omer Faruk Gergerlioglu
has been stripped of his parliamentary immunity and sentenced to two years
six months in prison on terror charges; notes that Gergerlioglu’s indictment
relates to a social media post in 2016 in which he called for a peaceful
solution to the Kurdish question; notes that Human Rights Watch has
released a written statement condemning his conviction; calls on the Foreign
Secretary to raise the question of this conviction with his Turkish counterpart;
and calls on the Turkish Government for an immediate review and reversal of
this conviction.
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Commons Library Debate Pack, 28 October 2021
 URU, Alm.del - 2021-22 - Bilag 45: Henvendelse af 3. november 2021 fra Sammenslutningen af Kurdiske Foreninger i Danmark, FEY-KURD, om demonstration mod mistanke om tyrkisk brug af kemiske våben i Syrien og om det britiske parlaments drøftelse af forbuddet mod PKK
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Kurdish political representation and equality in Turkey
Democratic process and attacks on Kurds in Turkey
EDM 1014 (session 2021-22)
14 Oct 2020
Chris Stephens
That this House notes that the Turkish authorities have issued arrest warrants
for 82 members of the pro-Kurdish People’s Democratic Party (HDP), including
current and former democratically elected mayors, and the party’s current
Central Executive Board; further notes that the HDP is the third largest
political party in Turkey; notes that in 2019 the HDP won 65 municipalities in
local elections and that the Turkish State has arbitrarily taken control of 51 of
those municipalities; is deeply concerned that at least 200 democratically
elected HDP representatives including 7 MPs are imprisoned; believes that
this mass incarceration amounts to a violation of fundamental rights
including the rights to political association, political participation and
freedom of expression; is further deeply concerned that this undermines the
rights of the Turkish people to have their democratic will upheld; and calls on
the Foreign Secretary to express these concerns to his Turkish counterpart as
a matter of utmost urgency.
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Commons Library Debate Pack, 28 October 2021
 URU, Alm.del - 2021-22 - Bilag 45: Henvendelse af 3. november 2021 fra Sammenslutningen af Kurdiske Foreninger i Danmark, FEY-KURD, om demonstration mod mistanke om tyrkisk brug af kemiske våben i Syrien og om det britiske parlaments drøftelse af forbuddet mod PKK
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