An ongoing legal battle surrounds the Kurdish-focused People's Equality and Democracy Party (HEDEP) as the Court of Cassation Chief Public Prosecutor's Office challenges the party's recent acronym change, citing similarities to the previously closed HADEP.
In response to the court's objection, Ayşegül Doğan, the spokesperson for HEDEP, characterized the situation as another instance of legal pressure on their party.
"Snares against our party continue relentlessly," she said, explaining, “Why did we need this change? Because the closure case against the HDP was ongoing, and the risk of not being able to participate in the elections emerged, so we entered the previous elections as the Green Left Party."
Top court rejects new acronym for pro-Kurdish party
Doğan emphasized the uniqueness of the situation, highlighting that HADEP had been closed, making it impossible to confuse the two parties. "They express that we evoke HADEP by turning the law upside down and ask us to change our name," she explained. "The prosecution says, if this decision is not implemented, if we do not consider this request and make the necessary changes within the specified time, they will threaten us by filing a warning lawsuit with the Constitutional Court."
The spokesperson outlined the party's response to the threat, saying, "We will announce that we have started work on this objection to avoid any risk before the local elections. Changes will be made to the regulations regarding the requested articles. These changes will only be within the limits requested by the Court of Cassation. No other changes will be made. We will do this as soon as possible."
Doğan concluded by addressing ongoing efforts to determine the new acronym for the party, reassuring that the long name, the People's Democracy and Equality Party, will remain unchanged. Only the acronym HEDEP will be altered.
Background
The Green Left Party, which was founded as an environmentalist and socialist party, became the new political platform for the pro-Kurdish movement in Turkey after the People’s Democratic Party (HDP) faced a closure case.
The HDP, which was the third-largest party in the parliament, was accused of having links to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
The closure case, which was initiated by the chief public prosecutor of the Court of Cassation, sought to ban 687 HDP members from politics, including former co-chairs Selahattin Demirtaş and Figen Yüksekdağ, and to seize the party’s assets.
In response to the closure case, the HDP’s members and executives switched to the Green Left Party, which ran in the May 2023 local elections instead of the HDP. The Green Left Party has 57 seats, making it the third-largest party in the parliament.
Following the elections, the Green Left Party changed its name to Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party, with the acronym HEDEP. The party said that the name change was a reflection of its inclusive and pluralist vision, and that it aimed to appeal to a broader segment of the society.
However, the name HEDEP also resembled previous pro-Kurdish parties, such as the HDP and the HADEP. The HADEP was the predecessor of the Democratic Society Party (DTP), which was also banned in 2009. (AS/VK)
