Pillars of Democratic Autonomy in Turkey
Pillars of Democratic Autonomy in Turkey
In its 4th Regular General Assembly the Democratic Society Congress (DTK) declared its approach to “Democratic Autonomy”. According to the DTP’s approach Democratic Autonomy has four pillars, namely Democratic Nation, Democratic Country, Democratic Republic and Democratic Constitution and it aims at a mutual life of various identities, cultures and faiths. It also supports the autonomy of these varieties under which they can protect their identity and express themselves freely.
DTK also defined Democratic Autonomy as project which will bring a democratic and durable solution not only for the Kurds but also other peoples living in the Middle East. In that sense, Democratic Autonomy will be a solution for the chaos and crisis caused by the nation-state structure. DTK reminded that this Autonomy project was also proposed by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk90 years ago.
The General Assembly underlined the fact that autonomy is neither a step on the way to independence nor an extension of the state on a local level. It is also emphasized that: “Autonomy does not include an independent state or sharing the power. It is based on the formulary of “state plus democracy”. It is also not like the relation between a central government and a local government. It is a kind of relation which makes the state democracy-sensitive. Democratic autonomy also means the facility of various communities and cultures for self-determination of decision regarding themselves, self-governance and being responsible for that.”
DTK further stated that autonomy will be organised from village-neighbourhood communes to city and region assemblies and everybody will be included. It is also stated that a democratic constitution is a sine qua non for such a structure and organised people will urge the state to pass a democratic constitution and abandon coup constitution of 12 September.
DTK also stated that Turkey needs an alternative law on local administrations and the state should withdraw its reservation on European Charter on Self-governance and guarantee political, administrative and financial independence of local authorities.
“Against monolingualism that imposed on us we propose multilingualism. The right to mother tongue is an indispensable and inalienable right. Meanwhile, against mono-nation we support a democratic and multicultural nation and against mono-state we support local self-governance.” added DTK.
DTK also defined Democratic Autonomy as project which will bring a democratic and durable solution not only for the Kurds but also other peoples living in the Middle East. In that sense, Democratic Autonomy will be a solution for the chaos and crisis caused by the nation-state structure. DTK reminded that this Autonomy project was also proposed by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk90 years ago.
The General Assembly underlined the fact that autonomy is neither a step on the way to independence nor an extension of the state on a local level. It is also emphasized that: “Autonomy does not include an independent state or sharing the power. It is based on the formulary of “state plus democracy”. It is also not like the relation between a central government and a local government. It is a kind of relation which makes the state democracy-sensitive. Democratic autonomy also means the facility of various communities and cultures for self-determination of decision regarding themselves, self-governance and being responsible for that.”
DTK further stated that autonomy will be organised from village-neighbourhood communes to city and region assemblies and everybody will be included. It is also stated that a democratic constitution is a sine qua non for such a structure and organised people will urge the state to pass a democratic constitution and abandon coup constitution of 12 September.
DTK also stated that Turkey needs an alternative law on local administrations and the state should withdraw its reservation on European Charter on Self-governance and guarantee political, administrative and financial independence of local authorities.
“Against monolingualism that imposed on us we propose multilingualism. The right to mother tongue is an indispensable and inalienable right. Meanwhile, against mono-nation we support a democratic and multicultural nation and against mono-state we support local self-governance.” added DTK.
