Turkey’s pro-Kurdish Greens and Left Future Party (‘Green Left’ for short), renamed as the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party, chose HEDEP as its new abbreviation at its congress on 15 October 2023. However, the Supreme Court of Cassation Prosecutor’s Office has rejected this abbreviation. The office claimed that HEDEP closely resembles the abbreviation of the previously banned People’s Democracy Party (HADEP), potentially causing confusion.
The Prosecutor’s Office, citing the similarity as a violation of the Political Parties Law, has requested the party amend its abbreviation. In response, the party’s leadership is deliberating on whether to change the abbreviation or to challenge the decision in the Court of Cassation. A meeting with the party’s legal advisors is scheduled to decide the course of action.
Party spokesperson Ayşegül Doğan is slated to make a public statement regarding the issue tomorrow.
Referring to the defunct HADEP, the Prosecutor’s Office in its decision noted, “Although the short name of the closed party does not exactly match, the resemblance could lead to confusion, making it possible to mistake the two political entities for each other. Hence, a revision of the party’s short name as defined in Article 1 of the Charter is essential to comply with the Law.”
The HADEP was dissolved on 13 March 2003 by the Constitutional Court, labelled a “centre of illegal activities”. This dissolution, part of Turkey’s history of banning Kurdish political parties, led to a 5-year political ban on 46 members, including then-chairman Murat Bozlak.
