Connection with the PKK Since its inception, the party and its leaders have faced legal problems with the
Turkish government since some critics suspect the party of having ties to the PKK. It was also criticized by observers for not distancing itself from PKK's armed actions to confirm its refutations of its claimed links with the PKK. A report from June 2007 by the
European Union Institute for Security Studies (EUISS) stated that "It is an obvious secret that DTP is connected to PKK in a way and PKK is a terrorist group." A delegation consisting of the DTP MP's
Fatma Kurtalan,
Osman Özçelik and
Aysel Tuğluk traveled to
Northern Iraq to mediate the release of 8 arrested Turkish soldiers by the PKK in 2007. This visit sparked outrage in Turkey since Fatma Kurtulans husband is an active PKK member. She defended her visit that she has not seen him for the past 13 years and they effectively are only married on paper. In October 2007, in a meeting of the ambassadors of the EU countries and the U.S. to Turkey, it was reported that the diplomats pressured the DTP to denounce the PKK as terrorist, following a DTP-sponsored conference, whose final declaration called the imprisoned PKK leader, Abdullah Öcalan, a "leader of the Kurdish people" and called for his release. In November 2007,
Devlet Bahçeli of the MHP called for the lifting of the
parliamentary immunity of what he called the “PKK straw men in parliament“.
Leyla Zana, a leading figure in the party made the statement: "in '99, our leader Abdullah Öcalan, leader of the PKK was in
İmralı" which led the crowd to chant "
Long Live Apo" () the nickname of Öcalan. A judicial investigation was initiated over her remarks. The Co-chair of the party at the time,
Emine Ayna, stated that the difference between the PKKs and the DTPs demands are mainly that the PKK wants to achieve their demands for more Kurdish rights through an armed struggle while the DTP wants to find a political solution to the conflict. In
Disbanding Between 2007 and 2009 the DTP had to face a
closure case which in December 2009 brought the parties existence to an end. On the 16 September 2007, the state prosecutor of the
Supreme Court Abdurrahman Yalcinkaya submitted an indictment before Constitutional Court demanding the closure of the DTP. The DTP defended itself arguing that most of what they are accused of is protected by freedom of expression. A few days after the deadly attack by the PKK on Turkish soldiers, The Court declared that DTP violated Articles 68 and 69 of the Constitution and the Political Parties Law. "The party became a focal point for terrorism against the indivisible integrity of the state.", stated
Haşim Kılıç, president of the Court. These party members include:
Ahmet Türk,
Leyla Zana,
Aysel Tuğluk,
Hüseyin Kalkan,
Nurettin Demirtaş,
Orhan Miroğlu. Later the same day, the Presidency of the
European Union released a statement, expressing concern over the
Turkish court ruling, and calling upon Turkey to reform its legislation on political parties. The decision of the Constitutional Court sparked reaction among
AK Party parliamentarians. Mir Dengir Mehmet Fırat said: "Turkey has become a graveyard for political parties that have been shut down. Closing political parties does not bring any benefit to Turkey. The Constitutional Court in its decision drew a parallel to the case of
Batasuna in Spain, but in my opinion, that example does not really apply."
Massoud Barzani, president of
Iraqi Kurdistan stated "The president's office expresses its anger at the Turkish constitutional court's outlawing of the Democratic Society Party (DTP)," as hundreds of protesters gathered in
Erbil,
Iraq. Most of the MPs who had been in the DTP decided to join the recently formed
Peace and Democracy Party.
Major protests were held in Turkey against the party's ban. ==Pre-legislative period==