Written declaration No. 417 | Doc. 11811 | 17 February 2009

The banning case of the Democratic Society Party (DTP)

Signatories: Mr Andreas GROSS, Switzerland, SOC ; Ms Tina ACKETOFT, Sweden ; Mr Ioannis BANIAS, Greece ; Ms Doris BARNETT, Germany, SOC ; Mr Július BROCKA, Slovak Republic ; Ms Anna ČURDOVÁ, Czech Republic ; Mr Detlef DZEMBRITZKI, Germany ; Mr Tuur ELZINGA, Netherlands, UEL ; Ms Pernille FRAHM, Denmark, UEL ; Mr Jean HUSS, Luxembourg, SOC ; Mr Bjørn JACOBSEN, Norway ; Ms Francine JOHN-CALAME, Switzerland, SOC ; Mr Albrecht KONEČNÝ, Austria, SOC ; Mr Tiny KOX, Netherlands, UEL ; Mr Jean-Paul LECOQ, France, UEL ; Mr Göran LINDBLAD, Sweden, EPP/CD ; Mr Aleksei LOTMAN, Estonia, UEL ; Mr Yevhen MARMAZOV, Ukraine, UEL ; Sir Alan MEALE, United Kingdom, SOC ; Ms Oľga NACHTMANNOVÁ, Slovak Republic ; Mr Edward O'HARA, United Kingdom ; Mr Armen RUSTAMYAN, Armenia, SOC ; Mr Sergey SOBKO, Russian Federation ; Mr Rudi VIS, United Kingdom

This written declaration commits only those who have signed it.

The undersigned,

1. Are deeply concerned by the ongoing closure case against the Democratic Society Party (DTP) in Turkey.

2. The party is dedicated to democratic principles and forms the fourth largest faction in the Turkish National Assembly.

3. The banning of political parties which play a fundamental role in pluralistic democracies violates the freedom to organise and the freedom of speech. Furthermore, the banning of the DTP which has an important mission for the solution of the Kurdish issue, one of Turkey’s major problems, would deal a blow to efforts to solve the problem through peaceful and political means.

4. The banning of 24 parties in Turkey up to the present day created many problems for the democratic process and did not solve any. In the same manner, the banning of the DTP will not help to solve the Kurdish issue but further aggravate it.

5. We are convinced that the DTP should not be closed but that the Turkish Government should enter into a dialogue with the DTP to facilitate a solution for Turkey’s major problems, including the Kurdish issue.