Lawyer Sıdkı Zilan says there is a need for an Islamic Kurdish political party. Hürriyet photoA new Kurdish party, which describes itself as Islamist, is set to enter Turkey’s political scene in October.
Vercihan Ziflioğluvercihan.ziflioglu@hurriyet.com.trThe new party is likely to set some controversy in motion, as one of its prominent figures is Sıdkı Zilan, a lawyer whose clients in the past have included members of Hizbullah, a militant Sunni group based in southeastern Turkey that is unrelated to Lebanese Hezbollah.
“We want to enact whatever is necessary [to bring to life] an entity that is inclusive, Islamic and in favor of dialogue. We do not have any institutional ties with Hizbullah. I do believe, however, there will be people fancying us from the AKP [Justice and Development Party], the HAS Party [People’s Voice Party], the SP [Felicity Party], the BDP [Peace and Democracy Party] and the Hizbullah community,” Sıdkı Zilan told the Hürriyet Daily News.
It was decided to establish a conservative, Islamic-oriented party because there currently are no political parties which represent the Islamic community among Turkey’s four Kurdish parties, namely the BDP, the Rights and Liberties Party (HAK-PAR), Participatory Democracy Party (KADEP) and the Freedom and Socialism Party (ÖSP), according to Zilan.
“Naturally, there [is] a need for an establishment that will both give voice to the Islamic solution and support the Kurdish and the Kurdistan front,” he said.
To a large extent, the Turkish state and the ruling AKP view the Kurdish problem through the prism of public security, he said, adding they were a party to the Kurdish problem even in the absence of a political party anyhow.
“The state is beset with problems of violence and public security originating from the PKK [Kurdistan Workers’ Party]. The PKK was not the essence of the matter; perhaps it is a consequence. We will have achieved our goal to some degree if we can contribute to the acceptance and comprehension of this [fact],” he added. The PKK is recognized as a terrorist group by Turkey, the United States and the European Union. (ISTANBUL- Vercihan Ziflioğlu-Hürriyet Daily News)
