Turkey’s highest court closed the only pro-Kurdish party in parliament

ANKARA: Turkey’s highest court closed the only pro-Kurdish party in parliament on Friday the existence of links to the PKK in a leader to bring a fresh blow to the country’s faltering bid to join the European Union.

The European Union immediately issued a statement of concern, after he warned that the ban the Democratic Society Party (DTP) that would infringe the rights of Kurdish, and can be a setback for the government’s campaign to end decades of conflict with Kurdish separatist militants.

Turkish Constitutional Court voted unanimously to ban the Democratic Society Party after being found guilty in cooperation with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) separatist group.

“And decided to close the DTP, because of connections with a terrorist organization and it has become a center for activities against the country’s safety,” President of the Constitutional Court Hasim Kilic said.

Provision would raise the political tensions and can be up to the feelings in the Turkish financial markets when it opened.

“The implications of Turkish origin will be negative in the short term because of the potential increase in insurance premium against political risks,” said Mohammed Ilgen of Ata Invest.

The decision was announced after the markets closed, but on the pound and lower bond yields rose in after hours trade.

With EU membership in mind, and took the Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the AKP is a political gamble when it began reforms to improve the cultural rights of Kurds in the hope of ending the conflict which has claimed more than 40,000 people.

In courting Kurdish support, Erdogan has incurred the hostility of the conservative establishment, including the judiciary, which is historically Kurdish aspirations for greater autonomy as a threat to the secular state founded by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.

The PKK has been fighting for 25 years to establish a Kurdish homeland in southeast Turkey. Kurds, who make up about 20 percent of the population but they were for decades prohibits the use of the Kurdish language, who have long complained of discrimination.

Provision that prevented 37 members of the Democratic Society Party from politics for five years. Democratic Society Party is the only party in the Kurdish parliament, controlled about 100 municipalities in the southeast.

“Turkey can not solve their problems from the closure of parties,” Ahmet Turk, the President of the Democratic Society Party, told reporters.

“As long as our goal is to find a solution to the Kurdish problem, no matter who is prohibited or is not politics, because our determination to find a solution that is still going on.”

He has said all the 21 party representatives in a democratic society in Turkey 544 seats in parliament would resign if the party was outlawed, which may lead to a by-election in the Kurdish areas.