It is not discussed very often in the media, but there is a political party facing a matter of life and death in the Turkish political arena, yet no one cares.

  If we look at the process that we have gone through so far, we never give Kurds the opportunity to participate in politics. If you see the table below, you'll realize how short the life cycle of political parties is. They were either shut down by the top court's decision or dissolved themselves to form a new party. This is the clear evidence that we do not allow Kurdish politicians in the political arena.

  Now, let's ask the following question to ourselves:

  “What did we gain through the closure of these parties? What kind of contributions did we make to the solution of the issue? Did we alleviate the Kurdish issue?”

  No, nothing has changed. We are at a worse point than the one we were at before.

  The harshest criticism I direct to the DTP is that they did not stand against the Kurdish Workers' Party, or PKK, terror, as they were supposed to do. When I say this, I also know the PKK's influence over the Kurdish people living in the Southeast and that it is impossible for a candidate to be elected if he/she is not supported by the PKK. Although I know that it is extremely difficult, the DTP should distant itself from the PKK; otherwise, they will not be able to embrace all of Turkey and be fully involved in politics.

  But despite all these reasons, I am of the opinion that the DTP shouldn't be closed down. I believe preventing the voice of millions of people from being heard through the DTP in Parliament will cause harm. Let's not forget that the Kurdish issue cannot be resolved only by military operations and bombardments of the mountain where the PKK is being sheltered. The Kurdish issue can be resolved in Parliament by politicians who will seek consensus.

'Don't show us the way to the mountain'

  Closing every newly formed political party means that we don't even want to hear the views of the Kurdish people represented in Parliament

  This is exactly what the PKK wants.

  If the DTP is dissolved by the high court they will tell Kurdish citizens, “These Turks do not event want to hear your voice. Let's go climb up the mountain. Help us. We cannot solve this problem except in an armed fight.”

  The DTP leader, Ahmet Türk, says the same. As he says, “Don't show us the way to the mountain...” Türk calls on us not to submit politics to the PKK.

  This is true, actually. We don't want to see Kurdish politicians. We are driving them away from Parliament. Then we want them to show negative reactions to the PKK.

  My only hope is that the Constitutional Court will overrule the closure of the DTP in a similar jurisprudence applied in the Hak-Par case in 2008.

  Believe me, Turkish democracy will be strengthened more if the DTP is not dissolved. Let us try to think what happens afterwards. Let us pressure the DTP to stand against the PKK. Let's solidify democracy in Turkey.