Turkey's pro-Kurdish HEDEP changes abbreviation upon top court's demand

Turkey's pro-Kurdish Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party changed its abbreviation to DEM Party after the Court of Cassation objected to its previous abbreviation HEDEP because of its “similarity" to closed HADEP, a former pro-Kurdish party.

Monday December 11 2023 09:13 pm

Party spokesperson Ayşegül Doğan announces the new party abbreviation in a press conference.

Duvar English

The People's Equality and Democracy Party (HEDEP) on Dec. 11 altered its abbreviation to DEM Party following a notification from the Court of Cassation urging a change due to its similarity to the closed People's Democracy Party (HADEP).

While a bylaws convention was held over the weekend to change the acronym, the party's full name was not changed. The word "democracy" in the party name was used to create the abbreviation.

Party spokesperson Ayşegül Doğan announced the new party abbreviation in a press conference, "We will continue our struggle with new names and new meanings, without slowing down, and moreover, by multiplying. Only the changes requested and objected to by the Court of Cassation were made in our bylaw."

The party sent its new abbreviation has to the Political Party Bureau of the Court of Cassation.

DEM Party comes from the same pro-Kurdish political tradition of HADEP. The latter operated between 1994 and 2003 and was closed by the Constitutional Court (AYM) on charges of "being the center of illegal activities” due to “its ties with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).”

DEM Party's predecessor Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) has been also faced the same allegations, and been on trial on the AYM for its closure.