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Kurdish MPs to quit after Turkey bans party
Mert Ozkan
ANKARA
Sat Dec 12, 2009 7:35am EST
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ANKARA (Reuters) - Deputies from Turkey's main Kurdish party said on Saturday they would quit parliament after the group was banned in court, throwing into doubt government efforts to end decades of conflict in the EU candidate country.
World | Turkey
The Constitutional Court voted on Friday to disband the Democratic Society Party (DTP), finding it guilty of cooperating with Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) separatist guerrillas.
The verdict, which has raised concerns in the EU and in Washington, has plunged the predominantly Muslim country into political uncertainty and is likely to hit sentiment in Turkish financial markets when they reopen on Monday.
The resignation of the 21 MPs from the DTP raises the possibility of by-elections in Kurdish districts.
Although Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's ruling AK Party enjoys an overwhelming majority in the 550-seat assembly, the verdict and the resignation of the DTP -- the only Kurdish party in parliament -- could kill off Erdogan's reforms and dent support for his party ahead of a general election set for 2011.
Disturbances and protests have broken out in the mainly Kurdish southeast, undermining Erdogan's drive to reconcile minority Kurds with the state and end decades of conflict.
In the town of Hakkari, riot police broke up a protest and fired water cannon at rock-throwing protesters, state news agency Anatolian said. Protesters attacked two police officers, who were saved by former DTP officials, Anatolian said. Disturbances were also reported in other towns.
"From this day, we are withdrawing from parliament. We will not participate in any parliamentary meeting or events," DTP chairman Ahmet Turk told a news conference.
Turk was among the 37 members of the DTP who were banned from politics for five years by the court.
Several Kurdish parties have been outlawed in Turkey before, but members of banned parties have regrouped under a new name.
Turk, who has resisted calls to condemn PKK violence, did not say what steps his supporters would take, but said "we still believe in democratic politics." The PKK is branded a terrorist group by Washington, Brussels and Ankara
EU, WASHINGTON VOICE CONCERN
Shortly after the verdict was unveiled, the EU issued a statement of concern, having warned that ban would violate Kurdish rights.
The U.S. State Department said the ruling was an internal matter but Turkey's democracy should advance political freedom for all its citizens and measures that restrict those rights "should be exercised with extreme caution."
With EU membership in mind, Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's Islamist-rooted AK Party took a political gamble when he launched reforms to improve Kurds' cultural rights in the hope of ending a conflict that has cost more than 40,000 lives.
In courting Kurdish support, Erdogan incurred hostility from a conservative establishment, including the judiciary, that historically regards Kurdish aspirations for more autonomy as a threat to the secular state founded by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.
Analysts said the government's gambit has backfired as Kurds and nationalists might withdraw their support for the AK Party.
The PKK has fought for 25 years for a Kurdish homeland in southeastern Turkey. The Kurds, who make up around 20 percent of the population but were for decades forbidden to use the Kurdish language, have long complained of discrimination.
Analysts say the ban could strengthen the PKK's hand by undermining confidence both in the democratic process and the government's Kurdish reform.
Erdogan's AK Party narrowly survived a legal case by the same court to shut down the party in 2008. (Writing by Ibon Villelabeitia; Editing by Ralph Boulton)
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