THE KURDS ARE GOING TO ANKARA

It looks like some of the election returns are coming in and the Kurdish people will have 22 deputies to represent them in the Turkish parliament, for the first time since Leyla Zana, Hatip Dicle, Selim Sadak, and Orhan Doğan were elected in 1991.

I am so happy, I am crying.

From Zaman:

Independent candidates supported by the Democratic Society Party (DTP), a strongly Kurdish-affiliated party, have won at least 22 parliamentary seats and will be able to form a group in Turkey’s legislature.

One of these new deputies, Sabahat Tuncel, will go to Parliament from prison. She had been incarcerated on claims of being a member of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

[ . . . ]

As Today’s Zaman was going to print it was almost clear that of those independent candidates supported by the DTP, the following will have a parliamentary seat:

From Hakkari, Sabahattin Suğracı and Hetem İlke;

From Mardin, the chairman of the DTP Ahmet Türk and Emine Ayna;

From Muş, Sırrı Sakık;

From İstanbul’s third district, Sebahat Tuncel;

From Şanlıurfa, İbrahim Binici;

From Van, Fatma Kurtulan;

From Şırnak, Hasip Kaplan and Sevahir Bayındır;

From Bitlis, Mehmet Nezir Karabaş;

From Diyarbakır, former Chairman of the Human Rights Association (İHD) Akın Birdal, Aysel Tuğluk, Gültan Kışanak and Selahattin Demirtaş;

From Siirt, Osman Özçelik;

From Tunceli, Şerafettin Halis;

From Batman, Ayla Akat Ata and Bengi Yıldız;

From Iğdır, Pervin Buldan.

The chairman of the Freedom and Solidarity Party, (ÖDP) Ufuk Uras, also supported by the DTP, won a seat. It is expected that he will join the DTP parliamentary group.

[ . . . ]

The election office of independent candidate Fatma Kurtulan was filled with her supporters as the preliminary results came in. A huge television screen was installed outside her office to follow the results. Similar euphoric scenes were seen in other eastern and southeastern cities.

In the meantime, Bloomberg is reporting that AKP was in the lead overall by 46.5% and is projected to have some 342 seats out of a total of 550 in the parliament. This isn't too much of a surprise, but at least we can be fairly certain that the more fascistic parties have not gained the upper hand.

In other news, Leyla Zana faces an investigation for her call for administrative states within Turkey, remarks that she made last Friday. Her remarks are not too different from the remarks of others, or their actions. Osman Baydemir has called for local control of local resources and Abdullah Demirbaş was removed from his position as mayor by the Council of State, and the Sur Municipality dissolved, for having provided city services in other languages besides just Turkish.

The Demirbaş/Sur case was, of course, another historic milestone for democracy.

With a minimum of 22 seats filled with pro-Kurdish parliamentarians, we shall see what happens next.

Hand me a tissue, would you?