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The Parliament of Turkey will finally continue to host pro-Kurdish deputies. After an hectic week in which the Democratic Society Party (DTP) was outlawed on December 11 for alleged links with Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), the 19 Kurdish deputies have announced they are to join a new party -the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP)- recently created as a precaution against an eventual prohibition of DTP.

DTP held 21 seats, but spokesmen Ahmet Türk and Aysel Tuğluk were disqualified and won't be allowed to participate in politics for the next 5 years. The remaining 19 deputies are left only 1 deputy away from the minimum threshold to form a parliamentary group. Former DTP deputies then threatened to boycott and leave the assembly to put the peace process launched by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan under pressure. The move would have also forced the call of early elections, as legislation establishes that the Parliament must dissolve if there are more than 28 empty seats. Had the 21 Kurdish deputies left the assembly, there would have been 27 unattended seats.

The remaining 19 deputies have finally decided to join the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP). They will get to form their own parliamentary group if an independent deputy joins them to reach the threshold of 20. It is likely that deputy Ufuk Uras joins forces with the BDP. According to SETimes.com, he declared that "as a deputy who has been defending peace, equality, fellowship and the idea of solving the Kurdish issue in parliament, I want all electors and all people to know that I would not hesitate to take needed steps while we are passing through this crucial period".

Photo: Ahmet Turk, former spokespan for DTP, has been banned from politics for the next 5 years.

Further information:

• Hürriyet: Kurdish deputies of disbanded DTP to stay in Parliament
• Today's Zaman: Pro-Kurdish BDP aims to represent the whole country
• Osservatorio sui Balcani: Al bando il partito kurdo
• Nationalia: ‘We have another party ready for when DTP is banned’

Kurdistan/Kurdistan

General information
Population: between 30 and 40 million inhabitants
Area: 350,000 to 500,000 km²
Institutions: Only the Kurdish Autonomous Region, inside Iraq
State administration: Iraq, Turkey, Iran and Syriad
Major cities: Mûsil (Mosul), Hewlêr (Arbil) and Kerkûk (Kirkuk), Amed (Diyarbakir), Bedlîs (Bitlis), Kirmaşan (Kermanshah), Sine (Sanandaj) Mehabad (Mahabad) and Qamişlo (Al Qamishli)
Territorial language: Kurdish
Official language: Turkish (Turkey), Kurdish and Arabic (Iraq), Persan (Iran) and Arabic (Syria)
National Day: 21st March (Norouz Day)
Major religion: Islam, with some Christian and Yezidi minorities

Further information in dossier Peoples and nations today: Kurdistan.