http://english.aljazeera.net/news/europe/2009/12/20091211164059977486.html
UPDATED ON:
Friday, December 11, 2009
20:41 Mecca time, 17:41 GMT
Turkey court bans pro-Kurdish party
Ahmet Turk, the DTP leader, has been expelled
from parliament [AFP]
Turkey's constitutional court has banned the country's main pro-Kurdish
party for having links to armed separatist fighters.
The court voted on Friday to shut down the Democratic Society Party (DTP)
and banned dozens of members from joining other political parties for five
years.
It also expelled two of the party's politicians, including Ahmet Turk,
the DTP leader, from parliament.
The court found the party guilty of co-operating with the Kurdistan
Workers Party (PKK), which has been fighting for autonomy in Turkey's mainly
Kurdish southeast in a conflict that has lasted 25 years and claimed 40,000
lives.
Consequences
The ruling is likely to hamper Turkey's efforts to join the European
Union, which had warned Ankara that banning the party would violate Kurdish
rights.
Turkey's Kurdish population, whose language was outlawed for years, has
long complained of discrimination.
But Hasim Kilic, the constitutional court chairman, said the party's
closure "was decided due to its connections with the terror organisation and
because it became a focal point of the activities against the country's
integrity".
The ruling comes after weeks of clashes between police and protesters
angry at the the prison treatment of Abdullah Ocalan, the founder of the PKK.
Earlier this week a protester was shot dead as 15,000 pro-Kurdish
protesters marched in the city of Diyarbakir.
Anita McNaught, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Turkey, said there are
fears the ruling will lead to more violence.
"We've seen an escalation of street protests, we're now seeing fatalities
... and this will be seen by many Kurds as provocation, they will not take this
well," she said.
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