ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A member of the Turkish parliament from the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) said on Friday that Turkey needs a new constitution that better resembles its reality.
“The current constitution does not represent all people nor does it acknowledge all languages,” Salihe Aydeniz told Rudaw’s Hevidar Zana in Diyarbakir (Amed) where thousands of Kurds gathered to celebrate Newroz, the Kurdish New Year.
The current constitution, ratified after the 1980 military coup and amended most recently in 2017, designates Turkish as the country’s official language. The Kurdish language was banned throughout much of the 20th century, following the establishment of modern Turkey. Public use of Kurdish, including speaking, publishing or singing in the language, was prohibited.
Kurds are hopeful that changes may be made after jailed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Ocalan last month called on the group to disarm and disband and take the struggle for Kurdish rights into the political sphere, potentially ending 40 years of conflict.
“No steps have been taken to democratically address the Kurdish issue in Turkey in the past 100 years,” Aydeniz said, adding that they are hopeful of a democratic settlement for the issue after negotiations kicked off between the Turkish government and the PKK. “The first step could be releasing thousands of Kurdish politicians who are jailed in Turkish prisons.”
The PKK was founded in 1978 with a demand for Kurdish independence but now calls for autonomy and greater rights for Kurds. The conflict between the PKK and the Turkish state has claimed 40,000 lives.
The DEM Party MP said that Ocalan, who has been in jail since 1999, should be released so that he could have greater leeway to meet with the relevant political factions and advance the implementation of PKK disarmament.
“The PKK has already announced their compliance with Ocalan’s message,” Aydeniz said, adding that the armed group requests the presence of their leader to make a decision about dissolving.
The PKK declared a unilateral ceasefire after Ocalan’s message for peace.
Devlet Bahceli, the leader of the far-right, ultranationalist National Movement Party (MHP), proposed that the PKK hold their conference in early May in Malazgirt district, eastern Turkey, and “end the disputes” around disbandment and disarmament.
