Kurdish Rights

This community, although in its infancy, will soon be strong with people who sympathize with the cause of the Kurdish people and their struggles to achieve democratic self-rule and be able to determine their own fates instead of leaving it to tyrants and dictators.

Democratic Party of the Peoples, is a pro-Kurdish and pro-minority political party in Turkey. Generally left-wing, the party places a strong emphasis on participatory democracy, minority rights, and egalitarianism. It is an associate member of the Party of European Socialists (PES) and consultative member of the Socialist International. Although the HDP has supported a peace process with Kurdish rebels and supported non-violent protest, it has been accused of maintaining links with militant organisations, most notably the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and the Group of Communities in Kurdistan (KCK).

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. It is in alliance with the Kurdish Democratic Regions Party (DBP), often described as the HDP's fraternal party.

The Peace and Democracy Party was a Kurdish political party in Turkey existing from 2008 to 2014. BDP succeeded the Democratic Society Party (DTP) in 2008, following the closure of the latter party for its alleged connections with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). The BDP is co-chaired by Selahattin Demirtaş and Gültan Kışanak. One-third of its representatives are Alevi. Pro-minority rights and feminist Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) acted as the fraternal party to BDP.

At the 2014 municipal elections, HDP ran parallel to BDP, with 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 was assigned exclusively to representatives on the local administration level.

Don't hesitate to post discussions and comments on this page and any invitations for potential group members are extremely appreciated.

Originally posted by Kurdistan Workers' Party:

Jin, jîyan, azadî                                            —                                            Women, life, freedom

GREATER KURDISTAN GROUP