Turkey’s first political party with ‘Kurdistan’ in title is formed

ISTANBUL

Mehmet Emin Kardaş is the founding leader of the party.

Turkey’s Kurdistan Democrat Party (T-KDP) has been officially found with the permission of the Supreme Court of Appeals prosecutor’s office. The word “Kurdistan,” which is a taboo in Turkey and has been banned in many areas in the country in the past, is being used by a political party for the first time.

The Supreme Court of Appeals prosecutor’s office has decided the use of the word “Kurdistan” in the party’s title does not conflict with the Turkish Constitution and gave permission to the party’s foundation.

The T-KDP first received the Interior Ministry’s approval. Mehmet Emin Kardaş is the founding leader of the party. He previously said the party has no links to Iraq’s Kurdistan Democrat Party.

However, the party takes Mustafa Barzani, the founder of Iraq’s Kurdistan Democrat Party and father of Masoud Barzani, president of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), as a model.

The symbol of the T-KDP is the sun rising behind Mount Ararat and the party’s colors are yellow, red and green, widely seen together in Kurdish-origin party flags.