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113-546: The mayor is Betül Yaşar ( HDP ). As of 1920, the area was known for its sulphur production. This article about an Eastern Anatolia Region of Turkey location is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Peoples%27 Democratic Party (Turkey) Democratic socialism Secularism Progressivism Social democracy Left-wing populism Regionalism Feminism The Peoples' Democratic Party ( Turkish : Halkların Demokratik Partisi , acronymized as HDP ; Kurdish : Partiya Demokratîk

226-647: A major corruption inquiry in Turkey, 96 judges and prosecutors, including the chief prosecutor of İzmir , Huseyin Bas , were transferred to new locations, ending the investigations. Bas was transferred to Samsun . Altogether 120 judges and prosecutors were reassigned. At the time, The Daily Telegraph described the events as "the biggest purge of the judiciary in [Turkey's] history". From 2014 to mid-2016, repeated purges of civilian, military and judicial officials took place in Turkey, mainly aimed at followers of Fethullah Gülen ,

339-474: A "political system which turns away from democracy". The United Nations have been reported as failing to condemn the coup and resulting violence, due to disagreement between Egypt and other Security Council members on the wording of a resolution in that direction. Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım announced on 16 July 2016 that 2,839 soldiers of various ranks had been arrested. Among those arrested were at least 34 generals or admirals. A number of students of

452-611: A Gelan ), or Democratic Party of the Peoples , is a pro- Kurdish political party in Turkey . Generally left-wing , the party places a strong emphasis on participatory and radical democracy , feminism , minority rights , youth rights , and egalitarianism . It is an associate member of the Party of European Socialists (PES), a consultative member of the Socialist International , and

565-804: A PKK spokesman. In February 2015, HDP chairwoman Figen Yüksekdağ claimed that a joint statement regarding the solution process could be made with the AKP. Delegations from the AKP and the HDP formally met in the Prime Minister's office in Dolmabahçe Palace in April 2015. After a raid on the HDP office in Esenyurt , Istanbul in January 2021, Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu shared a video flashing images of Abdullah Öcalan, criticizing

678-479: A President...) , which is followed by several different phrases, such as "Bir Cumhurbaşkanı Düşünün Ayrımcılık yapmıyor. Birleştiriyor, barıştırıyor." (Imagine a President who doesn't Discriminate, who Unites and makes Peace) or "Bir Cumhurbaşkanı Düşünün Herkese Demokrat" (Imagine a President who is Democratic to Everybody). Most of the votes that were cast for Demirtaş were from the Kurdish south-east. Emboldened by

791-571: A boost in popularity. In order to maximise their votes, the party's co-leader Figen Yüksekdağ announced that the HDP would begin negotiations with the United June Movement , a socialist intellectual and political platform that includes left-wing parties such as the Freedom and Solidarity Party (ÖDP) and the Labour Party (EMEP). Negotiations between parties began taking place in early 2015, with

904-405: A co-presidential system, whereby the party is chaired by one chairman and one chairwoman, elected during party congresses. Since its establishment in 2012, the party has had a total of ten leaders, five men and five women. The current leaders were elected at the 4th Congress of the Peoples' Democratic Party on the 23 February 2020. The following is a list of the current and previous chairpersons of

1017-610: A decree announced 15,726 dismissals (security forces: 7,600, ministry of interior: 2,700, education: 1,200). People were affected for being "related, belonging to or in contact with terror organizations and structures that are considered by the National Security Council as acting against national security." Passports of these affected people were canceled. With this decree 550 associations, 9 medias, and 19 private medical structures have been closed. The financial assets and properties of those organizations were to be seized by

1130-443: A forced change in political, academic, and critical culture, with firing and exclusion of traditional academic profiles, with worries about the long-term effect of such change and academic purge on the expertise and tone of both Turkey's researches and governmental statutes, culture and policies. While private university are technically allowed to hire purged academics, many reports private university been scared to hire them, increasing

1243-580: A former colleague of the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan . During the first post-coup speech Erdoğan could address to the nation upon landing at Atatürk airport , he said, "This uprising is a gift from God to us because this will be a reason to cleanse our army". An extensive purge of the Turkish civil service began with Erdoğan warning his opponents that "they will pay a heavy price for this." The New York Times described

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1356-644: A lawsuit demanding the closure of the HDP at the Constitutional Court of Turkey due to the parties alleged organizational links with the PKK. He also called for a five-year ban from politics for 687 HDP politicians. Amongst the politicians who are to be banned from politics figure all former party leaders including Selahattin Demirtaş and Figen Yüksekdağ and dozens of former and current members of parliament. The Turkish Justice and Development Party (AKP) government began

1469-469: A left-wing party, the HDP has been accused of negotiating with the conservative orientated right-wing Justice and Development Party (AKP) behind closed doors on issues mainly surrounding the Solution process to the Kurdish separatist militants. Critics of the government and the HDP alleged that such talks could lead to a potential coalition between the AKP and HDP in the event that the HDP enters parliament and

1582-465: A major role towards the success in the parliamentary elections of June 2015 . At around 21:30 ( UTC+3 ) on December 17, 2016, four masked people attacked the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) office in the Beylikdüzü district of Istanbul , which is located at a shopping mall. The attackers managed to overcome the security personnel and started a fire which caused the explosions of the two gas tubes inside

1695-475: A message to the congress stating that "We have never considered our movement apart from Turkey's revolutionary and socialist movements. We have always regarded ourselves as an integral part of this outcome" and "we have to consider the HDP as an integral part of the historical democratic dialogue and negotiation process. If socialism and an open democracy succeed in Turkey, it will be closely related to this democratic negotiation process." Öcalan's niece Dilek Öcalan

1808-445: A new perspective that overcomes the traditional Turkish versus Kurdish divide. The HDP instead aims to collectively represent people of all ethnic or religious backgrounds and to safeguard their civil liberties by bringing about direct democracy and an end to capitalist exploitation. The party has long advocated the establishment of local 'people's parliaments' to increase democratic representation and decentralisation of power. Much of

1921-427: A party that aims to eliminate the exploitation of labour and to fundamentally re-establish a democracy in which honourable and humanitarian individuals can live together as equal citizens. It was further described as a party aiming to bring about fundamental change to the existing Capitalist system though uniting a wide range of left-wing opposition movements. Gök claimed that any political movement with similar aims to

2034-520: A party within the Progressive Alliance (PA). Aspiring to fundamentally challenge the existing Turkish–Kurdish divide and other existing parameters in Turkish politics, the HDP was founded in 2012 as the political wing of the Peoples' Democratic Congress , a union of numerous left-wing movements that had previously fielded candidates as independents to bypass the 10% election threshold . The HDP

2147-538: A peace process with the PKK in 2013, consisting of a withdrawal of militants from Turkish soil and negotiations towards normalisation following nearly 30 years of armed conflict between Kurdish rebels and the Turkish Armed Forces . As a strong advocate of minority rights, the HDP was involved in negotiations with both the government and also the imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan on İmralı Island . Despite being

2260-605: A persecuted minority, or forcibly assimilated. This has led them to support leftist and parties which defended Kurdish cultural rights. This began with the People's Labor Party (HEP) and continued with the Freedom and Equality Party (ÖZEP) in June 1992, the Freedom and Democracy Party (ÖZDEP) in October 1992, the Democracy Party (DEP) in 1993, the People's Democracy Party (HADEP) in 1994,

2373-504: A power struggle between secularist and Islamist political elites in Turkey, affected people who were not active in nor aware of the coup, but who the government claimed were connected with the Gülen movement , an opposition group which the government blamed for the coup. Possession of books authored by Gülen was considered valid evidence of such a connection and cause for arrest. Tens of thousands of public servants and soldiers were purged in

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2486-603: A prosecutor initiated an investigation into the attendance of Feleknas Uca and Mehmet Rüştü Tiryaki to a funeral ceremony of a member of the People's Defence Forces (HPG), the armed wing of the PKK in their electoral district Batman . In November 2016 the party Co-Chairs MPs Selahattin Demirtaş and Figen Yüksekdağ as well as the HDP MPs Nursel Aydogan , Idris Baluken , Leyla Birlik , Ferhat Encü , Selma Irmak , Abdullah Zeydan , Nihat Akdoğan and Gülser Yildirim have been arrested. From September 2016 onward,

2599-509: A thousand companies, worth between $ 11 billion and $ 50–60 billion, on the charge of being related to Gülen and the coup. Goods and services produced by such companies were subject to boycott by the public. The purges also extend to the media, with television channels, newspapers and other media outlets that were seen as critical of the government being shut down, critical journalists being arrested and Misplaced Pages being blocked , from April 2017 to January 2020. Since early September 2016,

2712-433: A travel ban was placed on academics, preventing them from leaving the country. On 23 July 2016, Turkish authorities shut down 1,043 private schools, 1,229 charities and foundations, 19 trade unions, 15 universities and 35 medical institutions in his first emergency decree under the newly adopted emergency legislation . Academics have reported pre-2016 coup's changes in academic leadership, and sharp growing pressure after

2825-469: A violation of people's democratic vote. The at the time HDP co-heads Selahattin Demirtaş and Figen Yüksekdağ were jailed and the prosecution was seeking up to 142 years for Demirtaş and 83 years for Yüksekdaĝ imprisonment. The main charge is the allegation of "managing a terrorist organization [(the HDP)]". As of May 2020, both politicians remain arrested. Following a series of arrests and purges throughout

2938-590: Is in an alliance with the Kurdish Democratic Regions Party (DBP), often described as the HDP's fraternal party . From 2013 to 2015, the politicians of the DBP participated in peace negotiations between the Turkish government and the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). The party operates a co-presidential system of leadership, with one chairman and one chairwoman. In the 2014 presidential election ,

3051-458: The 2013 Gezi park protests and 2016 coup. Dean and academic management have pressured professors and students to align with conservative values and teachings. Activities, associations and student clubs have been closed under similar pressure. Conservative students are empowered to denounce non-conservative activities. Academic grants and tenures are reported to be filtered according to political affiliations and connections. Teachers have reported

3164-584: The 2014 presidential election and also announced that they would not be running in the June 2015 general election . The HDP is seen as the Turkish variant of the Greek SYRIZA and the Spanish Podemos parties, similar in their anti-capitalist stance. The founding co-chairs of the HDP, Yavuz Önen and Fatma Gök, both emphasized the HDP's fundamental principle of rejecting capitalism and "labour exploitation" for

3277-756: The Democratic People's Party (DEHAP) in 1997, the Democratic Society Party (DTP) in 2005, the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) in 2008 and finally the Democratic Regions Party (DBP) in 2014. Most of these parties were closed down for allegedly violating the constitution. While the HDP is also affiliated with the Peace and Democracy Party and the Democratic Regions Party, it aims to establish

3390-533: The European Court of Human Rights for their verdicts. The HDP responded that the same images are already used by the HDP themselves since over six months in their press releases. The Presidential spokesperson Fahrettin Altun equated the HDP with the PKK. The peace process was nearly disbanded after pro-Kurdish protests and riots broke out in south-eastern Turkey protesting the lack of government intervention against

3503-640: The Gezi Park protests . A message from the imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan , emphasizing the party's support for a decentralization of power and for the establishment of localized 'people's parliaments', was also read out. 105 sitting and 25 reserve members were elected to the Party Council. The party's 2nd extraordinary congress was again held in the Ahmet Taner Kışlalı Stadium on 22 June 2014. 156 delegates were eligible to cast votes to elect

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3616-577: The Interior Ministry filed a criminal complaint about four HDP members, including former deputy Mülkiye Birtane, for making terror propaganda . On 1 March 2018, the HDP's deputy Dilek Öcalan , the niece of Abdullah Öcalan , the founding leader of the PKK, was sentenced to two years and six months in prison for making terror propaganda. Two months later, the membership of two deputies, Osman Baydemir and Selma Irmak , were revoked after they were convicted and sentenced on criminal charges related to

3729-581: The July 2016 attempt coup and first purges of the military, the Turkish government used the state of emergency to introduce amendments into Turkey's municipalities law . Articles 45 and 57 were introduced, which allow to remove an elected mayor from his duty. Before only a final conviction was reason enough to remove a mayor. Hüseyin Avni Mutlu , ex-governor of İstanbul, was dismissed on 19 July 2016. Deputy Mayor of Istanbul's Şişli District , Cemil Candaş ( tr ),

3842-1076: The Kuleli Military High School , enough to fill five buses, were also arrested. By 18 July 2016, a total of 103 generals and admirals have been detained by Turkish authorities in connection with the coup. Yasemin Özata Çetinkaya , the governor of Sinop Province , was removed from her duty and her husband, a colonel in the Turkish army, arrested. Turkish military conducted a raid on the Turkish Air Force Academy in Istanbul as well. Major General Cahit Bakir, who commanded Turkish forces under NATO in Afghanistan , and Brigadier General Sener Topuc, responsible for education and aid in Afghanistan, have been detained by authorities in Dubai in connection with Turkey's failed coup. General Bekir Ercan Van,

3955-525: The Peoples' Democratic Congress and had participated in the establishment of the HDP in 2012. However, the EMEP released a statement on 17 June 2014, announcing a split with the HDP. The split was attributed to the restructuring of the Kurdish nationalist Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) into a local-only party under the new name Democratic Regions Party (DBP), while the BDP's parliamentary caucus would be integrated into

4068-453: The first Nagorno-Karabakh War . The HDP is the only major political party in Turkey that does not support Armenian genocide denial and urges Turkey to set up a truth commission and take responsibility regarding their role in World War I . Although the HDP has been part of anti-NATO protests before, the party has abstained from participating in parliamentary votes on NATO enlargement, such as

4181-429: The government of Turkey has conducted a series of purges , enabled by a state of emergency in reaction to the failed coup attempt on 15 July that year. The purges began with the arrest of Turkish Armed Forces personnel reportedly linked to the coup attempt but arrests were expanded to include other elements of the Turkish military, as well as civil servants and private citizens. These later actions reflected

4294-547: The interim election government formed by AKP Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu on 28 August 2015, with HDP MPs Ali Haydar Konca and Müslüm Doğan becoming the Minister of European Union Affairs and the Minister of Development respectively. The party governs the municipalities in which they have won the elections in a co-mayoralty constituted by a woman and a man. Witnessing the 2016 Turkish coup attempt and pointing out previous repression of democratic forces by martial powers,

4407-661: The 10% parliamentary threshold under the 'Labour, Democracy and Freedom Block'. 36 members were elected, though the election of Hatip Dicle was later annulled by the Supreme Electoral Council and this number subsequently fell to 35. Fatma Gök, one of the HDP's founding chairpersons, described the HDK as a means of providing political hope to citizens and also as a way of intervening in the Turkish political system . The HDK operated by organising conferences and congresses, establishing

4520-515: The 550 candidates, 268 were women. In 2015, Barış Sulu was the first openly gay parliamentary candidate in Turkey as a candidate of the HDP. Support for the HDP among Alevis rose from 7% to 16% between June 2015 and June 2018. The People's Democratic Party originates from the Peoples' Democratic Congress ( Halkların Demokratik Kongresi , HDK), a platform composed of various groups including left wing parties Revolutionary Socialist Workers' Party (DSIP), Labour Party (EMEP), Socialist Party of

4633-407: The 9.77% of the vote won by HDP co-leader Selahattin Demirtaş in the 2014 presidential election the HDP contested the election by fielding party candidates rather than independent candidates. This was controversial since the HDP's votes would be lost in the event that the HDP failed to win above 10% of the vote. There was speculation as to whether the AKP forced Öcalan to pressure the HDP to contest

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4746-550: The AKP did not do more to bring lasting peace in the southeast. On 15 July, Demirtaş outlined his road-map for his presidency should he win the election. In a speech lasting just under an hour, he proposed that the Presidency of Religious Affairs (Diyanet) should be disbanded, that compulsory religion lessons in schools should be removed and that Cemevis (the Alevi houses of worship) should receive national recognition. He also proposed

4859-575: The AKP does not win a majority. Such a coalition could potentially deliver Kurdish nationalist demands to the south-east of Turkey while the HDP support the AKP's long-time policy of introducing a presidential system in place of the existing parliamentary system . In March, AKP Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç claimed that the HDP would be their partners in the solution process and expressed his wish to work in harmony, though also accused some HDP MPs of not working towards lasting peace with sincerity. In contrast, government minister Bekir Bozdağ accused

4972-476: The AKP of scaremongering when they claimed that their affiliation to the PKK made them unfit for parliamentary representation. PKK militants have also been accused of raiding local shops and cafes in the south-east of Turkey and demanding votes for the HDP, with one civilian being wounded when a group of PKK youth militants raided a cafe in Silvan . Selahattin Demirtaş has denied having an 'organic relationship' with

5085-471: The BDP running in Turkey's Kurdish-dominated southeast while the HDP competed in the rest of the country except Mersin Province and Konya Province where BDP launched its own candidates. After the local elections, the two parties were re-organised in a joint structure. On 28 April 2014, the entire parliamentary caucus of BDP joined HDP, whereas BDP (itself re-organised as the Democratic Regions Party by July)

5198-402: The BDP, Sebahat Tuncel , Sırrı Süreyya Önder , and Ertuğrul Kürkçü abdicated in October 2013 to join the HDP. Levent Tüzel , former Labour Party chairman and independent member of parliament also joined the three to form a caucus. In April 2014, 24 more parliamentarians from the BDP joined the HDP, which following formed a parliamentary group. The Labour Party (EMEP) had been a member of

5311-527: The Council of State and 140 members of the Court of Cassation . By 18 July 2016, the Turkish government had suspended 8,777 government officials across the country for stated links to the coup perpetrators. Among those suspended include 7,899 police officers, 614 gendarmerie officers, 47 district governors and 30 regional governors. As of 19 July 2016 , 755 judges and prosecutors had been arrested in relation to

5424-725: The Customs Ministry indicated 184 employees were dismissed. By far the greatest purge was in the Ministry of National Education , where 15,200 education ministry officials were suspended. The licenses of 21,000 teachers in the private sector were also cancelled. The Council of Higher Education asked all deans of state and private universities, numbering 1577, to resign. 626 educational institutions, mostly private, were shut down. For example, in Burdur , one school, one cram school and four student hostels were shut down on 20 July. In addition,

5537-424: The HDK that had not merged with the party was more than welcome to do so. However, Önen claimed that the HDP would be entering elections as an individual party and not as part of a wider electoral alliance, adding that the party is itself formed of a wide coalition of political forces in the first place. Concerns were raised that the inclusion of the Kurdish nationalist HDK member Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) in

5650-487: The HDP as a means of fulfilling their political goals and establishing a means of having political influence. The formal application of the HDK for political party status was delivered to the Ministry of the Interior on 15 October 2012. One of the party's chairpersons, Yavuz Önen, claimed that the party would be the political wing of the HDK and not a replacement for it. The HDP was described by its founding chairpersons as

5763-489: The HDP could win in the 2019 Turkish local elections . By March 2020, out of the 65 municipalities won by social-democrate HDP during the 2019 Turkish local elections , 46 municipalities (69%) had been seized by Turkish government. The dismissal and municipal seizures are believed to be purely politically motivated, using ill-defined accusation of terrorism. Local human right activist comment that "terrorism in Turkey [is] so vague, broad, and ambiguous that anybody critical of

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5876-486: The HDP had caused controversy by not displaying any Turkish flags . In response, Demirtaş had maintained that the HDP respected the flag, stating that the flag represented all citizens of Turkey. The party addresses a wide spectrum of voters, having had candidates of different gender and social, national and religious background. A high proportion of women, as well as Alevi , Armenian, Yazidi , and Assyrian candidates mixed with Turkish left-wing politician candidates played

5989-413: The HDP of being part of an 'international project' intending to destabilise the government of Turkey. Relations seemed to sour in early April, where the HDP accused the AKP of staging a pre-planned attack against PKK members in the province of Ağrı aimed at gathering more votes in the upcoming general election. In response, Deputy Prime Minister Yalçın Akdoğan accused Selahattin Demirtaş of acting like

6102-511: The HDP strongly opposed the coup. The HDP was first ignored and left out of the post-coup national truce while the Turkish purges targeted alleged members of the Gülen movement . From September 2016, the Turkish judiciary started to submit HDP elected officials to anti-terrorism accusations. Several HDP parliamentarians have been imprisoned in November 2016 including the party co-chairs Selahattin Demirtaş , and Figen Yüksekdağ , widely disturbing

6215-408: The HDP to prove itself to be a peaceful political party. Nevertheless, the solution process continued despite the riots, with ISIL being completely ejected from Kobanî by April 2015. HDP MP Altan Tan later claimed that his party had miscalculated the consequences of calling for more protests, although his statements were met with opposition from the confederalist KCK organisation. The HDP operates

6328-403: The HDP would raise allegations that the HDP was also a mainly Kurdish orientated party. However, Önen claimed that the HDP's key goal was to establish a different perspective of viewing the Turkish political scene and moving away from the existing 'Kurdish versus Turkish' dichotomy that had become institutionally entrenched within Turkish political perceptions. Three outstanding parliamentarians of

6441-412: The HDP's ability to communicate and be active on the political scene. In December 2020 HDP co-deputy head for local governments, Salim Kaplan said that "since 2016, 20,000 of our members have been taken into custody and more than 10,000 of our members and executives have been sent to jail", and 48 municipalities have been seized by the government. The ruling AKP accuses the HDP of having direct links with

6554-511: The HDP, showing the names, birth and death dates where applicable and also the start and end dates of their leadership. (Born–Died) (Born–Died) (1938–) (1948–) (1979–) (1965–) In the Extraordinary HDP congress held on 22 June 2014, the outgoing co-chairpersons Ertuğrul Kürkçü and Sebahat Tuncel was by an amendment in the HDP Bylaw awarded the status of

6667-456: The HDP. This would, in turn, require the HDP's constitution to be altered in order to ensure greater compliance and conformity with the ideology of the BDP. This caused the EMEP to formally announce their secession from the HDP, but stated that they would continue their participation with the HDK. Despite the split, the Labour Party endorsed the HDP presidential candidate Selahattin Demirtaş for

6780-466: The Honorary Presidents. Kürkçü and Tuncel are the first co-presidents to serve in that capacity. (1948–) (1975–) The party has held several ordinary congresses throughout different cities, mostly focussing on provinces in south-eastern Turkey. So far, the party has had two nationwide extraordinary congresses, held in 2013 and 2014, where elections were held to select the chairpersons of

6893-615: The Oppressed (ESP), Socialist Democracy Party (SDP), Socialist Party of Refoundation , the Greens and the Left Party of the Future , the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP), some far-left factions, feminist groups, LGBT groups, trade unions and ethnic initiatives representing Alevis , Armenians , and Pomaks . In the 2011 general election , the HDK fielded 61 independent candidates in order to bypass

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7006-543: The PKK and claimed that the allegations of PKK militants demanding votes for the HDP from voters was untrue. According to the pro-government daily Daily Sabah , the HDP members have long been accused of voicing their support for the Kurdistan Workers' Party and glorifying terrorism committed by the organization. Selahattin Demirtas, whose older brother is a member of the Kurdistan Workers' Party , has been accused by pro-Turkish government newspaper Daily Sabah of supporting

7119-454: The PKK's leader Abdullah Öcalan in a 2016 speech in Nowruz . Members of the party have been also accused of providing financial support to the PKK and attending the funeral of killed rebels. On 15 June 2016, the HDP was criticized after its members attended the funeral of Eylem Yaşa, a suicide bomber who had killed police officers and civilians, and injured 51 others in Istanbul. In July 2018,

7232-464: The PKK, and the party had been defending itself against prohibition in March 2021, until the case was dropped. The HDP first participated in the 2014 local elections , where it ran in most provinces in western Turkey while the DBP ran in the Kurdish south-east. The two parties combined gained 6.2% of the total votes but HDP failed to win any municipalities. The 21 MPs from the Peace and Democracy Party ,

7345-467: The PKK. In the same month, the former deputy Aysel Tuğluk was sentenced to ten years in prison for being a member of a terror organization (PKK). In August 2018, a former deputy Leyla Birlik fled to Greece where she reportedly sought asylum. According to the Turkish sources, she had been arrested in November 2016 for making terror propaganda and released pending trial, but she had left the country despite her travelling ban. On 11 August 2018, one of

7458-708: The Prime Ministry, 257 employees, including six advisers, were suspended. The Presidency of Religious Affairs suspended 492 employees, among them three provincial muftis . The numbers of suspended personnel in the National Intelligence Organization and Ministry of Family and Social Policy were 100 and 393 respectively. On 20 July 2016, the Youth and Sports Minister Akif Çağatay Kılıç announced that 245 personnel within his ministry had been laid off. The Energy Ministry reports 300 employees were let go, and

7571-536: The Turkish Ministry of the Interior . In June 2020, Leyla Güven and Musa Farisogullari were stripped of their parliamentarian immunity and arrested. Two of their MPs had to defend themselves from having attended a Democracy March in protest of the dismissal of Farisoğullari and Güven in the midst of the spark of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since February 2021, several parliamentarians are faced with investigations into

7684-612: The Turkish Parliament revoked her parliamentary membership on the 21 February 2017 and on the 9 March 2017 the Supreme Court of Appeal ruled she was no longer a member of the HDP. Formed in 2012, the HDP has since contested two local, two presidential and three general election. A summary of the results and number of candidates elected is shown below. Pervin Buldan At the 2014 municipal elections , HDP ran parallel to BDP, with

7797-628: The Turkish Treasury. On 24 November 2016, the European Parliament unanimously accepted the call for a temporary freeze of the full membership negotiations between the EU and Turkey . On 12 December 2016, in reaction to prior Istanbul double bombing and Kurdistan Freedom Falcons (TAK) states, 118 HDP officials and supporters were arrested. On 21 December 2016, Turkey suspended another 1,980 teachers and school employees for stated connections to

7910-440: The Turkish judiciary started submitting HDP supporters, staff and elected officials to anti-terrorism accusations. On the 20 May 2016, the Turkish Parliament voted in favor to enabling the lifting of MPs immunity, following which 54 of the 59 HDP MPs were prosecuted on terrorism-related charges. As of June 2017, more than 10 HDP representatives were under arrest, widely disturbing the HDP's ability to communicate and remain active in

8023-419: The United States an ultimatum, demanding the extradition of Fethullah Gülen, the cleric said to be behind the failed 15 July coup attempt. Turkey demanded that Greece extradite eight Turkish soldiers who had fled there after the coup. On 11 August 2016, Bulgaria extradited Abdullah Büyük, a Turkish businessman being linked with the Gülen movement. The bulk of the purges happened in the 10 days following

8136-487: The advance of ISIL militants on the city of Kobanî in Syria , just south of the Turkish border. The HDP openly supported the protests, while calling for non-violence. Protestors were met with tear gas and water cannon , leading to more than 40 deaths. Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu heavily criticised the HDP for calling for more protests and responded by drafting a heavily controversial domestic security bill and calling for

8249-409: The benefit of all Turkish citizens regardless of race, gender or religion. The party in this sense is therefore secular , though has refrained from endorsing the secularism enshrined in the principles of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk . The HDP has also called for a new constitution that enshrines minority rights for Kurds, Alevis and other minorities. Kurdish peoples living in Turkey have long been

8362-461: The building. One police officer and a security guard sustained minor injuries. That same night, shots were fired by unidentified assailants at the HDP headquarters in Darıca , Kocaeli Province . Attacks on other HDP offices across the country were also reported, including İzmir , Çanakkale , Hatay , Ankara , and Erzincan . The HDP maintained talks with Abdullah Öcalan through which Öcalan gave

8475-670: The commander of Incirlik Air Base , which the U.S. uses to carry out airstrikes against ISIL , was arrested by Turkish authorities for his stated role in plotting the failed military coup. He sought asylum from the United States but was denied. On 16 July 2016, the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors of Turkey (HSYK) removed 2,745 Turkish judges from duty and ordered their detention. Of these judges , 541 were in administrative judiciary and 2,204 were in criminal judiciary. This amounted to approximately 36% of all judges in Turkey at

8588-485: The coup attempt. In January 2019, former chairman of Turkey's Judges and Prosecutors Association (YARSAV ), recipient of human rights awards and judge Murat Arslan have been condemned to 10 years in prison for "participation to a terrorist organisation". No violent action or call for violence was reported, the statement being based on an anonymous denunciation and the presence of ByLock on his smartphone, an application he denies having installed on his phone. Following

8701-432: The coup attempt. On 25 December 2016, Turkey probes around 10,000 social media users for reportedly insulting government officials or supporting " terror -related activity." On 7 January 2017, and via three decrees, 8,390 more civil servants were dismissed (2,687 police officers, 1,699 civil servants from the justice ministry, 838 health officials, and hundreds others from other ministries, 631 academics, 8 members of

8814-419: The coup. The government releasing data documenting the issue : On 26 July 2016, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker announced that Turkey's EU membership process would come to an end if the death penalty was returned in Turkey. On 4 and 5 August 2016, the Istanbul and İzmir 1st Criminal Court of Peace issued an arrest warrant for U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gülen . On 17 August 2016,

8927-489: The deputies of the party, Mahmud Togrul, was sentenced to 2 + 1 ⁄ 2 years in prison for making terror propaganda. Two months later, the former lawmaker Sırrı Süreyya Önder was sentenced to three years and six months in jail for spreading terror propaganda. In September 2020, the Turkish Government ordered the detention of the current mayor of Kars Ayhan Bilgen, together with other prominent HDP figures like

9040-711: The economic exclusion. Academics have been subjects to travel bans. About one thousand scholars and human right experts who had earlier petitioned for the end of military operations in South East Turkey, Afrin and Syria have faced systematic punitive consequences via public agencies, including interrogations, judicial prosecutions, firing from jobs, arrests, trials and condemnations for "terrorist propaganda". The signatories have been subject to 2000 routine judicial hearings with usual 15 months suspended jail sentence, with no acquittal reported and about 30 actual imprisonments. The licenses of 24 radio and television channels and

9153-402: The election as a party in order to boost their own number of MPs. The party charged a ₺2,000 application fee for prospective male candidates, a ₺1,000 fee for female and young candidates under the age of 27 and no fee was collected from disabled applicants. Applications for candidacy were received between 16 February and 2 March. According to a private poll conducted by the HDP in January 2015,

9266-536: The established political system. 100 sitting and 50 reserve members for the Party Council were elected. Outgoing chairpersons Ertuğrul Kürkçü and Sebahat Tuncel were declared Honorary Presidents of the party. In the HDPs 3rd Extraordinary Congress on 20 May 2017, Serpil Kemalbay was elected as the new chairwoman while Selahattin Demirtaş was confirmed as its chairman. The party's previous female party leader, Figen Yüksekdağ , had been imprisoned in November 2016, and

9379-471: The events. He continued to direct applause to the mother of the murdered teenager Berkin Elvan , who died 269 days after being hit by a tear gas canister during the protests and falling into a coma. On the issue of the lack of Turkish flags within the hall in which he was delivering his speech, Demirtaş stated that the Turkish flag represented all citizens of Turkey. His slogan is "Bir Cumhurbaşkanı Düşün" (Imagine

9492-424: The first week following the coup. For example, on 16 July 2016, just one day after the coup was foiled, 2,745 judges were dismissed and detained. This was followed by the dismissal, detention or suspension of over 100,000 officials, a figure that had increased to over 110,000 by early November 2016, over 125,000 after the 22 November decree, reaching at least 135,000 with the January decrees, about 160,000 after

9605-570: The former MPs Ayla Akat Ata or Sırri Süreyya Önder due to their support of the Kobani protests in 2014 which were held in support of the Kurdish population besieged in Kobani by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). By October 2020, Duvar reported that only six out of the sixty-five elected mayors of the HDP were still acting as mayors. The other mayors were replaced by state imposed trustees of

9718-428: The government can easily be criminalized as a terrorist" while dismissals, arrests, prosecutions, and condemnations are based on "trumped-up terrorism charges". Since 2014, over 90 municipalities have been seized. Dismissed mayors, part of the HDP movement who repeatedly stated opposition to PKK-TSK violences, were later arrested on charges of "membership to a terror organization." These removals have been described as

9831-441: The government dismissed 2,300 more officers from the police force, 136 military officers and 196 employees from the information technology authority. On 18 August 2016, arrest warrants were issued for 187 suspects, including CEOs of leading companies in Turkey, with prosecutors also ordering the seizure of their assets. On 2 September 2016, Turkey announced a purge of about 11,500 teachers with stated links to PKK. The move

9944-469: The government, Prime Minister Yıldırım announced on 18 July 2016 that annual leave for all civil servants was suspended, and all those on leave were to return to work. Over three million civil servants were affected. In addition, public sector employees were banned from leaving the country. By the evening of 19 July 2016, the number of public sector employees suspended had reached 49,321. In the Ministry of Finance , more than 1500 employees were suspended. In

10057-606: The intention of forming a broad alliance rather than a strict political coalition. Although Yüksekdağ ruled out negotiating with the CHP since they were 'closed to dialogue' and Demirtaş was opposed to negotiations, CHP deputy leader Sezgin Tanrıkulu said that the CHP was open for talks and that the two parties had until 7 April to come to an agreement. 2016%E2%80%9317 purges in Turkey [REDACTED] Government of Turkey Fethullah Gülen (alleged by Turkey) Since 2016,

10170-440: The introduction of "People's Parliaments" (Cumhur meclisleri) , which would also incorporate Youth Parliaments to increase representation of young citizens. Pushing for a new constitution, Demirtaş outlined the need to end the non-representation of different cultures, languages, races and beliefs without delay to ensure national stability. Also in his speech, he praised the Gezi Park protests and displayed photos of himself during

10283-615: The largely Kurdish political formations HDP and BDP. About a third of the HDP members, more than 11,000 people were detained, more than 3000 of them were formally arrested, while also 94 democratically elected mayors have been expelled from their posts. 2014's elected mayors were removed, detained, and subjected to politically motivated prosecutions. Elected mayors were replaced by government's appointees. Municipal councils were not formally dissolved, but were not gathered anymore to hold their democratic and managerial functions. In October 2018, President Erdogan vowed to seize all municipalities

10396-489: The lifting of their parliamentarian immunity due to the parties involvement in the protests during the Siege of Kobani in October 2014. Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu was stripped of his parliamentary membership on 17 March 2021 due a conviction for spreading "terror propaganda" in a tweet of 2016 supporting eventual peace negotiations with the PKK. On the same day the state prosecutor of the Supreme Court of Appeals Bekir Şahin filed

10509-400: The new chairman and chairwoman. Since a majority could not be secured in the first two rounds of voting, the leadership election proceeded into a third round where Selahattin Demirtaş was elected as the chairman and Figen Yüksekdağ was elected as the chairwoman of the party. Speeches by the elected leaders mainly centred on the corruption within the Turkish government and also opposition to

10622-493: The newly adopted emergency legislation . The closed outlets include Gülen-affiliated Cihan News Agency , Samanyolu TV and the previously leading newspaper Zaman (including its English-language version Today's Zaman ), but also the opposition daily newspaper Taraf which was known to be in close relations with the Gulen Movement. In late October 2015, Turkish authorities shut down 15 media outlets, including one of

10735-463: The party needed to gather around 600,000 more supporters by the general election in order to surpass the election threshold of 10% and win 72 MPs. Polling organisations such as Metropoll, however, predicted that the party would win around 55 MPs if they won more than 10%. HDP candidates hoped that the victory of the left-wing SYRIZA in the January 2015 Greek legislative election in January would result in

10848-413: The party put forward its chairman, Selahattin Demirtaş , who won 9.77% of the vote. Despite concerns that it could fall short of the 10% election threshold , the party put forward party-lists instead of running independent candidates in the subsequent June 2015 general election . Exceeding expectations, it polled at 13.12%, becoming the third largest parliamentary group. The party briefly participated in

10961-414: The party's attempts to unite citizens throughout Turkey is through the opposition to the governing conservative Justice and Development Party (AKP), which the HDP has accused of being authoritarian , exploitative and discriminatory against religious minorities. The HDP's foreign policy also involves opening the border to Armenia which has been closed since 1993 due to Turkey support of Azerbaijan during

11074-606: The party. The party's 1st extraordinary congress was held in the Ahmet Taner Kışlalı Stadium in Ankara on 27 October 2013. The HDP Executive Board and the Congressional Preparation Council both recommended Ertuğrul Kürkçü and Sebahat Tuncel for the positions of chairman and chairwoman respectively, after which both formally assumed their positions. The congress focussed mainly in voicing support for

11187-408: The political scene. On June 5, the Turkish interior ministry announced that 130 people who are outside the country while being suspected of militant links will lose their citizenship unless they return to Turkey within three months and meet government standards. Three of the suspects are HDP leaders: Faysal Sarıyıldız , Tuğba Hezer Öztürk , and Özdal Üçer  [ tr ] . In March 2018, it

11300-433: The post-coup emergency state extended to purging Kurdish groups, including the dismissal of over 11,000 Kurdish teachers and dozens of elected mayors and arrest of the co-chairs of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) for alleged links with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). In August 2018, the Turkish Parliament approved a new "anti-terror" law to replace the state of emergency. In January 2014, during

11413-468: The predecessor of the DBP, joined the HDP on 28 August 2014. For the June 2015 general election , the HDP took the decision to field candidates as a party despite the danger of potentially falling below the 10% threshold. Even though most of the politicians from HDP are secular left-wing Kurds, the candidate list included devout Muslims , socialists , Alevis , Armenians , Assyrians , Azerbaijanis , Circassians , Lazi , Romanis and LGBT activists. Of

11526-497: The press cards of 34 journalists reported of being linked to Gülen were revoked. Two people were arrested for praising the coup attempt and insulting the Turkish President Erdoğan on social media . On 25 July, Nazlı Ilıcak was taken into custody. On 27 July 2016, Erdoğan shut down 16 television channels, 23 radio stations, 45 daily newspapers, 15 magazines and 29 publishing houses in another emergency decree under

11639-523: The purges as a "counter-coup" and expected Erdoğan to "become more vengeful and obsessed with control than ever, exploiting the crisis not just to punish mutinous soldiers but to further quash whatever dissent is left in Turkey". On 18 July, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry urged Turkish authorities to halt the increasing crackdown on its citizens, indicating that the crackdown was meant to "suppress dissent". French Foreign Minister and former Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault voiced concern, warning against

11752-402: The state of emergency following the attempted coup d'état in 2016. The HDP appealed to the court that they should be allowed to assume, but the constitutional court denied the request. The HDP reported that after the municipal elections in 2014, more than 90 elected mayors of the HDP ally Democratic Regions Party (DBP) have been dismissed and dozens of them have been arrested as well. In 2016,

11865-446: The suspensions and arrests decree of April 29 and 180,000 after a massive dismissal decree in July 2018. Collectively about 10% of Turkey's 2 million public employees were removed as a result of the purges. Purged citizens are prevented from working again for the government, which has led in many cases to destitution. In the business sector , the government forcefully seized assets of over

11978-586: The time. Two judges from the Constitutional Court of Turkey , Alparslan Altan and Erdal Tercan  [ tr ] , were detained by Turkish authorities for stated ties with the Gülen movement, while 5 members of the HSYK had their membership revoked and 10 members of the Turkish Council of State were arrested on charges of being members of the parallel state. Furthermore, arrest warrants were issued for 48 members of

12091-748: The votes regarding Sweden and Finland in the Grand National Assembly. At the same time, some HDP MPs have previously been members of the Turkish Group of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly . The party's women branch criticized that the decision to withdraw from the Istanbul Convention which protects the rights of women, was taken by a single man. During a conference in Selahattin Demirtaş 's presidential election campaign,

12204-744: The world's only women's news agencies, and detained the editor-in-chief of the prominent secularist Turkish newspaper Cumhuriyet, "on accusations that they committed crimes on behalf of Kurdish militants and a network linked to the US-based cleric Fethullah Gülen". Turkey has imprisoned more than 160 journalists, making it the world's biggest jailer of journalists. In May 2018, at a press conference with British PM Theresa May , Turkish President Erdoğan called Turkey's jailed journalists "terrorists". Government authorities had revoked almost 11,000 passports by 22 July; by 30 July, more than 50,000 passports were cancelled. In August 2016 Turkish President Erdoğan gave

12317-574: Was and nephew Ömer Öcalan is a member of parliament. The relationship between the HDP and the PKK has been put forward by the governing Justice and Development Party (AKP) as a reason why it would be better for the HDP to not gain representation in Parliament, though government journalists alleged that this would result in greater violence by the PKK and attempts to establish a separate parliament in Diyarbakır . In contrast, HDP politicians also accused

12430-527: Was assigned exclusively to representatives on the local administration level. Selahattin Demirtaş was announced as the HDP's candidate for the Presidency on 30 June. In a campaign dominated by the Solution process with Kurdish rebels, he claimed on 5 August in Van that the government of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had not done enough to bring forward promised legislation, and that the process would collapse immediately if

12543-1196: Was denounced by Kurdish and Turkish opposition parties for lacking due process and evidences. An anonymous former Turkish diplomat said the move sharply weakened the pacifist wing of Kurdish voices, pushing the Kurdish movement toward more radical means. On 12 September 2016, Turkey removed two dozen elected mayors, members of the opposition Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), for stated links to Kurdish militants. On 4 October 2016, Turkish authorities suspend nearly 12,800 more police officers from duty over their suspected links with U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen . On 29 October 2016, by decree, Turkey dismissed 10,131 more civil servants, while about 15 more media outlets were closed for stated ties to terrorist organizations and U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gülen . In early November 2016, security forces began mass arrests of opposition Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) MPs, including co-leaders Selahattin Demirtaş and Figen Yüksekdağ . Internet and social web services were blocked across southeastern Turkey. Out of 59 HDP's MPs, 15 were researched, 12 MPs were detained, 2 MPs were travelling abroad, and one not located. On 22 November 2016,

12656-458: Was reported that 11'000 HDP members have been detained, of which more than 3000 have been arrested. Also in the days the local elections of March 2019 , dozens of candidates for municipal councils were arrested over terror charges. The Council of Europe reported, that after the elections were held, six elected mayors as well as dozens of elected members of the municipal council were not allowed to assume their posts for having been dismissed during

12769-465: Was shot in the head in his office by an unidentified assailant on 18 July 2016. Meanwhile, Turkish parliament was evacuated due to unidentified security concerns. In the 2014 Turkish local elections , the sister party of the HDP, the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) won 97 district municipalities out of 1351 and 2 metropolitan municipalities out of 30. Starting in September 2016, the purges pushed upon

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