Democratic Society Congress
| Kongreya Civaka Demokratîk Demokratik Toplum Kongresi | |
| Abbreviation | DTK KCD |
|---|---|
| Formation | October 2007 |
| Founded at | Diyarbakır |
| Type | NGO |
| Purpose | Kurdish rights |
Chairman | Berdan Öztürk |
Chairwoman | Leyla Güven |
| Website | https://www.kcd-dtk.org/english-2/ |
The Democratic Society Congress (Turkish: Demokratik Toplum Kongresi, Kurdish: Kongreya Civaka Demokratik) is a pro-Kurdish NGO favouring the implementation of Democratic Confederalism in Turkish politics.[1] Its foundation congress was held on 26–29 October 2007.[1]
Structure[edit]
It has 2 co-chairs, a chairman and a chairwoman, a general assembly with 501 delegates, an executive council of 21 members and several committees.[1] 40% of the delegates of the general assembly are represented by labour unions, civil society organizations and political parties, 40% are representatives from local assemblies.[2] The congress meets approximately every three months to discuss the resolutions which come from the distinct committees.[3] The DTK has assemblies in several administrative subdivisions like in districts, cities, villages and neighborhoods.[4] For each street in a neighborhood, there should exist a commune.[5] These are then followed by assemblies in their respective neighborhood, town, city or region.[5] Each commune is independent in their decision making process but is still in a relationship with their respective neighborhood council which coordinates the decisions in the different communes.[5] The DTK has an executive committee of 5 members, a coordination council with 13 members and a permanent assembly of 101 delegates.[6] Several committees are formed by the DTK.[6][1]
- Economy commission
- Women's commission
- Ecology and Local Government commission
- Youth commission
- Faith commission
- Health
- Diplomacy commission
- Status and Law commission
- Art and Cultural commission
- Science commission
- Human Rights commission
- Political Affairs Commission
Ideology[edit]
On 14 July 2011 it announced its support for Democratic Autonomy after having held an extraordinary congress in Diyarbakır with 850 participants.[7] The DTK is also active in the solution finding process for the Kurdish–Turkish conflict in Turkey[8] and issued a proposal for a political solution in December 2015.[3] According to this proposal it was supported the idea of issuing a new constitution after which Turkey would be structured into several democratic autonomous regions represented in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey.[3]
Prosecution of sympathizers and members[edit]
Its members are often prosecuted by the Turkish authorities,[9] and the attendance of events organized by the DTK can be viewed as a reason of prosecution as was the case for Evrensel writer Yusuf Karataş.[10] Also the attendance of a DTK congress as a non member can be viewed as a reason for prosecution according to the DTK. Numerous raids were conducted at the delegates houses that were on the list which was confiscated during a search in October 2018. Also, Leyla Güven, received a demand to resign from the post of co-chair of the DTK by the Turkish authorities.[9] Despite the legal existence of the DTK, membership in the DTK was deemed as an evidence of being a member in a criminal organization in the indictment of the closure case of the pro-Kurdish HDP.[11]
Leaders[edit]
| Co-Chairs | Term | |
|---|---|---|
| Yüksel Genç | Hatip Dicle | 2007–2010 |
| Aysel Tuğluk | Ahmet Türk | 2010–2014 |
| Selma Irmak | Hatip Dicle | 2014–2016 |
| Leyla Güven | Hatip Dicle | 2016–2017 |
| Leyla Güven | Berdan Öztürk | 2017 |
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d e "English – DEMOKRATİK TOPLUM KONGRESİ" (in Turkish). Archived from the original on 2021-06-24. Retrieved 2020-04-02.
- ^ White, Paul (2015-08-15). The PKK: Coming Down from the Mountains. Zed Books Ltd. pp. 131–132. ISBN 978-1-78360-040-3.
- ^ a b c "DTK's Updated Proposal for Democratic Autonomy | New Compass". new-compass.net. Retrieved 2020-04-02.
- ^ Jongerden, Joost; Akkaya, Hamdi (2013). Gunter, Michael; M.A. Ahmed, Mohammed (eds.). The Kurdish Spring. Costa Mesa, California: Mazda Publishers. pp. 180–182. ISBN 9781568592725.
- ^ a b c Kurtay, Mahir (11 September 2018). "The struggle in North Kurdistan: an interview with HDP MP, Musa Farisoğulları". OpenDemocracy. Archived from the original on 2019-08-29. Retrieved 2021-12-12.
- ^ a b Jongerden, Joost; Akkaya, Hamdi (2013). Gunter, Michael; M.A. Ahmed, Mohammed (eds.). The Kurdish Spring. Costa Mesa, California: Mazda Publishers. p. 182. ISBN 9781568592725.
- ^ White, Paul (2015-08-15). The PKK: Coming Down from the Mountains. Zed Books Ltd. pp. 66–67. ISBN 978-1-78360-040-3.
- ^ Jongerden, Joost; Akkaya, Hamdi (2013). Gunter, Michael; M.A. Ahmed, Mohammed (eds.). The Kurdish Spring. Costa Mesa, California: Mazda Publishers. p. 181. ISBN 9781568592725.
- ^ a b "DTK Co-Chair Leyla Güven summoned to depose". 29 June 2020.
- ^ Gazetesi, Evrensel. "Evrensel Writer, Yusuf Karataş arrested - Evrensel Daily". Evrensel.net. Retrieved 2020-08-18.
- ^ Can, Osman (17 June 2021). "The Motion before Turkey's Constitutional Court to Ban the Pro-Kurdish HDP". Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (SWP). Archived from the original on 2021-06-22. Retrieved 2021-11-06.