The pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party has renewed calls for democratic reforms and the release of political prisoners as part of ongoing peace negotiations in Turkey. On Friday, DEM Party spokesperson Ayşegül Doğan highlighted the need for progress in resolving the long-standing Kurdish issue, criticising the recent Kobanê trial verdict and urging the establishment of a special parliamentary commission to support the peace process.
Doğan’s remarks came during a press conference at the party’s headquarters in Ankara, where she addressed the Kobanê trial, a high-profile case involving over 100 politicians, activists and journalists, many from the DEM Party’s predecessor, the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP). The trial, linked to 2014 protests over the Islamic State’s siege of Kobanê in Syria, resulted in over 400 years of combined sentences on 16 May 2024. Doğan described the 32,630-page verdict, released after a 13-month delay, as lacking legal substance. “This is a political revenge case, a trial of ideas,” she said, quoting jailed former HDP co-leader Selahattin Demirtaş, who received a 42-year sentence.
The trial’s verdict has sparked outrage for its restrictive seven-day appeal window, which DEM Party officials argue deliberately obstructs defence rights. “This massive document, filled with political rhetoric rather than evidence, cannot be reviewed in a week,” said Nuray Özdoğan, a member of the party’s Legal Commission, highlighting how the verdict’s volume and rushed appeal process exacerbate the trial’s perceived aim to criminalise pro-Kurdish political activities.
Doğan also underscored the urgency of advancing the peace process, which seeks to address the Kurdish issue through dialogue rather than conflict. The process, previously active between 2013 and 2015, collapsed after renewed violence between the Turkish state and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). Recent efforts to revive negotiations have gained momentum, with the DEM Party’s İmralı delegation, including MPs Pervin Buldan and Mithat Sancar, meeting Turkish Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş on Thursday. “The process has reached an important stage,” Buldan said, announcing plans to meet President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli, and main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Özgür Özel within two weeks, followed by a visit to jailed Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan in İmralı prison.
The establishment of a parliamentary commission to support the peace process was a key focus of Doğan’s remarks. She noted a growing consensus among political parties for such a body, which would provide legal and societal legitimacy to the negotiations. “We welcome the initiative of the parliament speaker, who has consulted with party groups,” Doğan said, adding that the DEM Party would submit a proposal for the commission’s structure on Monday. The commission is seen as a critical step to ensure dialogue progresses on a democratic platform, potentially addressing issues like disarmament and amnesty for PKK members.
Doğan also raised concerns about the treatment of political prisoners with severe health conditions. In a recent meeting with Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunç, DEM Party representatives pressed for the release of such prisoners, arguing that their continued detention violates basic human rights. “If we are talking about justice and democracy, we cannot keep people who are too ill to be in prison,” Doğan said, calling for all parties to address this issue.
