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The HEP tradition refers to a series of left-wing pro-Kurdish political parties in Turkey which are continuations of each other. The series began with the People's Labour Party, or HEP.[1][2]

Ideology

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The ideologies of the parties of the HEP tradition are nearly identical, with the basis being liberalism, progressivism, left-wing populism, social democracy, regionalism, and feminism. The ideology advocates for a united and peaceful Turkey in which Kurds and all minorities have equality.[3][4]

History

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HEP was founded on 7 June 1990, by seven politicians who were expelled from the SHP after attending a meeting organised by the Kurdish Institute of Paris. HEP was the first political party in Turkey to advocate for rights of Kurds, and was quickly deemed a threat due to its growth.[5] The party was threatened with closure, and officially banned on July 14, 1993, by the Constitutional Court.[6] In May 1993, DEP was founded as the successor of HEP. HEP and DEP were both frequently accused by Turkey of having links with the PKK, which later became a recurring accusation for all parties within the HEP tradition.[7][8] The parties of the HEP tradition claimed to be for all of Turkey, not just Kurds, and they have included members, leaders, and representatives from different ethnicities.[9][10] In April 1994, there was an explosion at a shop in Istanbul, which Turkish authorities accused the PKK of committing. The PKK denied the attack, although the government of Tansu Çiller used the attack as a justification to close DEP.[11] In May 1994, HADEP was founded as the successor of DEP. On March 13, 2003, HADEP was closed by the Constitutional Court over accusations of support for the PKK.[12] DEHAP, which was founded in October 1997, became the successor of HADEP. In 2005, DEHAP merged with DTH to form DTP.[13] Starting in 2007, DTP faced a closure case, and was banned on December 11, 2009, by the Court of Cassation.[14] BDP, founded on 3 May 2008, became the successor of DTP. On 11 July 2014, BDP rebranded to DBP. Later in 2014, BDP joined HDP, and DBP remained active but was overshadowed by HDP.[15] HDP was founded on 15 October 2012, although after it faced a closure case in 2021, it entered the YSP lists during the 2023 elections in May, and handed all political work to YSP, which became its successor.[16] YSP later changed its name to DEM.[17][18]

Parties

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Name Short Leader Active
People's Labor Party HEP Ahmet Fehmi Işıklar 1990–1993
Freedom and Equality Party ÖZEP 1992
Freedom and Democracy Party ÖZDEP Mevlüt İlik 1992–1993
Democracy Party DEP Yaşar Kaya 1993–1994
People's Democracy Party HADEP Murat Bozlak 1994–2003
Democratic People's Party DEHAP Tuncer Bakırhan 1997–2005
Democratic Society Movement DTH Leyla Zana 2005
Democratic Society Party DTP Ahmet Türk 2005–2009
Peace and Democracy Party BDP Gültan Kışanak, Selahattin Demirtaş 2008–2014
Democratic Regions Party DBP Çiğdem Kılıçgün Uçar, Keskin Bayındır 2014–present
Peoples' Democratic Party HDP Pervin Buldan, Mithat Sancar 2012–present
People's Equality and Democracy Party DEM Tulay Hatimoğulları Oruç, Tuncer Bakırhan 2023–present

Criticism

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The HEP tradition and its ideology and goals are criticised by many right-wing Kurdish nationalists.[19]

Mehmet Metiner in 2018 stated that the PKK and HDP were "trying to spread the infidel ideology to the Kurds", referring to the HEP tradition ideology.[20]

Kemal Burkay, former leader of HAK-PAR, claimed that parties within the HEP tradition are not representatives of Kurds, and criticised their ideology and goals, especially their lack of Kurdish nationalism, and their goal of "democratising Turkey" and "democratic autonomy" within Turkey.[21] Zekeriya Yapıcıoğlu, leader of HÜDA-PAR, similarly criticised the HEP tradition for its lack of Kurdish nationalism. Yapıcıoğlu claimed that the borders of Turkey were illegitimate and he criticised the HEP tradition for being focused on all of Turkey, instead of on Kurdistan. He also claimed that the parties of the HEP tradition do not represent Kurds.[22]

The HEP tradition had been accused of being the political wing of the PKK, and many Turkish parties had advocated for the closure of HEP tradition parties.[23][24][25]

References

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  1. ^ Watts, Nicole F. (1999). "Allies and Enemies: Pro-Kurdish Parties in Turkish Politics, 1990–94". International Journal of Middle East Studies ,Volume 31 , Issue 4 , November 1999 , pp. 631 - 656 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0020743800057123
  2. ^ Bora, Tanıl (2017). Cereyanlar: Türkiye'de Siyasî İdeolojiler. İstanbul: İletişim Yayınları. ss. 895-6
  3. ^ Bora, Tanıl (2017). Cereyanlar: Türkiye'de Siyasî İdeolojiler. İstanbul: İletişim Yayınları. ss. 895-6
  4. ^ Güney, Aylin (2002). "The People's Democracy Party". Turkish Studies. 3 (1): 122–137. doi:10.1080/714005704. hdl:11693/48656. S2CID 143548942
  5. ^ Watts, Nicole F. (November 1999). "Allies and Enemies: Pro-Kurdish Parties in Turkish Politics, 1990–94". International Journal of Middle East Studies. 31 (4): 636–637. doi:10.1017/S0020743800057123. ISSN 1471-6380. S2CID 155216330
  6. ^ Güney 2002, p. 124.
  7. ^ "BDP'nin adı Demokratik Bölgeler Partisi oldu". July 11, 2014.
  8. ^ "Turkey: Kurdish Party Banned | Human Rights Watch". 2009-12-11. Retrieved 2024-07-30.
  9. ^ "Arap, Alevi, Sosyalist, Feminist Bir Vekil Adayı". bianet.org (in Turkish). Retrieved 2024-07-31.
  10. ^ "Faruk Gergerlioğlu ile Ömer Turan birbirine girdi!" (in Turkish). 2021-01-13. Retrieved 2024-07-31.
  11. ^ Cigerli, Sabri; Saout, Didier Le (2005). p.191
  12. ^ Moghadam 2007, p. 86.
  13. ^ Çağlayan, Handan (2020). Women in the Kurdish Movement: Mothers, Comrades, Goddesses. Springer Nature. p. 109. ISBN 9783030247447.
  14. ^ Strittmatter, Kai (17 May 2010). "Verfassungsgericht verbietet Kurdenpartei". Süddeutsche Zeitung (in German). Archived from the original on 2021-12-01. Retrieved 2021-11-28
  15. ^ "BDP milletvekilleri HDP'ye katıldı". Sabah (in Turkish). Retrieved 2024-07-30.
  16. ^ "Yeşil Sol Parti, HDP'nin parti üzerinden seçime girme ihtimaline nasıl bakıyor?". BBC News Türkçe (in Turkish). 2023-03-14. Retrieved 2024-07-30.
  17. ^ "Yeşil Sol Parti'nin yeni ismi belli oldu: Demokratik Halklar Partisi" (in Turkish). 2023-09-25. Retrieved 2024-07-30.
  18. ^ "DEM Parti: Halkların Eşitlik ve Demokrasi Partisi'nin yeni kısa adı". BBC News Türkçe (in Turkish). 2023-12-11. Retrieved 2024-07-30.
  19. ^ "The New Kurdish Right". New Lines Magazine. 2021-04-13. Retrieved 2024-07-31.
  20. ^ "AK Partili Metiner: PKK, HDP 'kâfir' ideolojiyi, Kürtlere yaymaya çalışıyor" (in Turkish). 2018-03-25. Retrieved 2024-07-30.
  21. ^ "'HDP niye Kürtlerin temsilcisi oluyor?'". www.aa.com.tr. Retrieved 2024-07-30.
  22. ^ "Hüda - Par Başkanı: PKK milli değil!". www.rudaw.net. Retrieved 2024-07-30.
  23. ^ "Party for a Democratic Society (DTP) and Others v. Turkey" (PDF). European Court of Human Rights. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
  24. ^ Ünaldı, Gönenç (21 October 2014). "Democratic representation of pro-Kurdish political parties in Turkey". openDemocracy. Retrieved 2021-12-06.
  25. ^ "BDP'nin adı Demokratik Bölgeler Partisi oldu". Evrensel. 11 July 2014. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
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