The 6th ordinary congress of the Party of Democratic Regions (DBP) took place in Ankara on Sunday. Under the slogan "With an organized society to a free life", the delegates laid down the most important content and goals of the party's work. The hall in the Nazım Hikmet culture and congress center offered space for a good 1,500 delegates and guests. The list included the Istanbul Legal Office Asrin, which represents Abdullah Öcalan and his fellow prisoners, the Platform for Socialist Solidarity (SODAP), the Socialist Party Reconstruction (SYKP), the Workers' Party of Turkey (TIP), the Democratic Society Congress (KCD), the women's movement TJA and the parties and organizations that formed the "Kurdistan Alliance" in the run-up to the local elections in 2019.

End isolation in Imrali, solve the Kurdish question

The most important conclusions of the congress were, on the one hand, the renewed confirmation that the human rights problem in Turkey can only be overcome if the Kurdish question is resolved. This would also have an effect on the other nation states in which the Kurdish people live. On the other hand, there was a consensus that Abdullah Öcalan was the only actor to solve the Kurdish question, which had been going on for centuries. Not only because he is a strong leader, but also because he is the only political actor in the entire Middle East region who, despite all opposing tendencies, could defend and advance the model of progressive democracy with his proposal of democratic confederalism. Because Öcalan does not understand the Kurdish question as a national or ethnic one, but as a question of liberating society in the entire region. His isolation is therefore absolutely unacceptable and breaking it is considered one of the greatest challenges.

Return to the Dolmabahçe Agreement

This is also what DBP chairman Keskin Bayındır said: “Abdullah Öcalan represents the key to a peaceful, political solution to the Kurdish question. His treatment is an indicator of the Turkish government’s willingness to find a solution. That this willingness does not exist is evident from the thousands of Kurds imprisoned solely for opposing the policy of annihilation and denial, and from the military aggression throughout Kurdistan. This is the biggest obstacle to solving the conflict. Therefore, steps to democratic politics must be taken immediately. The next step is the release of Öcalan and all other political prisoners. A solution process requires a transparent and democratic negotiation environment in which a democratic constitution can be drawn up. The basis for this is the Dolmabahçe Agreement, which symbolizes a democratic will to find a solution and has existed for a long time. We call on the state to abandon its anti-Kurdish war policy and return to the Dolmabahçe Agreement. Because the country has only two choices: continue the war against the Kurds - in which case all peoples of the country will lose - or opt for a democratic solution to the Kurdish question and pave the way for new negotiations. But to find a solution, you need the right people to talk to in the right place. This is Parliament.”

Local self-government structures

The congress passed several resolutions updating the main guiding documents on the party's work. The DBP is sticking to its goal of achieving the recognition of the Kurdish cultural identity by the state and anchoring it in the constitution. Associated with this is the introduction of Kurdish as the official language and the right to education in the mother tongue. Secondly, the DBP demands an end to the militarization and arbitrary rule in the Kurdish regions. The centrally organized Turkish state must become a thing of the past in order to put municipal self-government and citizen-oriented administration structures into practice, favouring citizen participation in municipal politics and the strengthening of local democracy.

Sancar: Time for a Kurdish National Conference

In his speech, HDP co-chair Mithat Sancar pointed to the most important cornerstone for the future of the Kurdish people: the model of a democratic nation as an alternative to the nation state. However, the successful implementation of this goal can only be achieved with Kurdish unity. “National unity is inevitable as the existence, freedom and political will of the Kurdish people are at stake. Only by acting together and overcoming fragmentation can the existence of the Kurdish people and their achievements be preserved,” said Sancar, adding that “it is time to convene a Kurdish national conference. This would become the cornerstone of a solution strategy that combines regional and international efforts and the commitments of Kurdish society.”

Aydeniz and Bayındır re-elected

After further speeches and the reading of the messages from imprisoned politicians Leyla Güven, Gültan Kışanak, Sebahat Tuncel, Selahattin Demirtaş and İdris Baluken, the elections for the new co-chairs, the main boards, the party council and the committee members took place. The previous co-chairs, Saliha Aydeniz and Keskin Bayındır, were re-elected.

The Party of Democratic Regions

The DBP was created in July 2014 by renaming the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP). The party’s declared goal is to represent the interests of the Kurdish population and to decentralize Turkey. Unlike the BDP before it, the DBP focuses on engagement at the local level. As a sister party of the HDP, it takes part in national parliamentary elections.