ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Turkey's Public Supreme Court has opened cases against Kurdish parties which have the word Kurdistan in their titles, saying they must be tried and their activities stopped.
This decree will go against the Kurdistan Democratic Party - Turkey (PDK-T), the Kurdistan Communist Party (KKP) and Kurdistan Socialist Party (PSK) and the Kurdistan Freedom Hawks (TAK).
The aforementioned parties downplay the court ruling saying even if their parties are banned, they will not remove “Kurdistan” word from their titles.
"This decision is not a solution for Turkey. It will rather embolden our belief and struggle to protect ourselves," Bayram Bozyel, a PSK leader, told Rudaw.
He added there is no legal issue with the name of their party and that they see the decision as being more politically motivated.
The PDK-T leader lashed out at the court ruling: "We are not a military party."
"We are a legal and transparent party," Mihemed Emin Kardas said, also downplaying the decision as it is not made on legal grounds.
The KKP echoes the sentiment that the Turkish state does not want to see any struggle because of the use of Kurd and Kurdistan because this negatively affects relations with Kurds in the country.
"The Republic of Turkey was established on the principle that there were no Kurds or Kurdistan and they kept that policy to date," said Yasar Kazici, a party official.
"With our struggles they recognized Kurds," Kazici said.
He vowed they also will continue their efforts for the good of Kurdistan.
"We will continue to use the word Kurdistan in our political work," he said.
According to the CIA World Factbook, Kurds make up 18 percent of Turkey's population or about 14 million.
The largest pro-Kurdish party in Turkey that does not have a Kurdistan in its title is the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP). It fights for greater minority, ethnic, and cultural rights.
The only party which has waged an outright war against the Turkish state is the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) which is banned Turkey for its four decade, sometimes-armed, struggle against the state.
Reporting by Mashalla Dakak