The Constitutional Court today starts hearing a case filed by the Supreme Court of Appeals' Prosecutor's Office in 2007 against the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP) demanding its closure on charges of separatism.

The hearing is taking place at a time of escalated tension on the streets across the country as clashes between Kurdish demonstrators and the police -- and in one instance an ultranationalist group -- have been frequent in the past few days. There were demonstrations over the weekend as well as yesterday in various parts of the country to protest the new conditions of imprisonment of Abdullah Öcalan, the leader of the terrorist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) who is serving a life sentence on the island of İmralı in the Sea of Marmara.Last week, his lawyers claimed that a new cell to which Öcalan was recently moved was much smaller than the previous one. The Ministry of Justice has denied a significant reduction in the cell's square footage and published pictures of the cell. However, the lawyers' statement was followed with demonstrations by Kurdish groups across the country, some of which have turned violent. On Sunday, a 23-year-old university student was allegedly shot to death by a police officer during a demonstration in Diyarbakır. This was followed on Monday by the death of Serap Eser, a 17-year-old student who was receiving treatment at a hospital due to serious injuries and severe burns caused by a Molotov cocktail thrown at a city bus by PKK supporters on Nov. 7.On Monday in İstanbul more than 100 people were detained in demonstrations. Store windows remained closed in several cities of the predominantly Kurdish Southeast, including Mardin, Nusaybin and Şemdinli.Meanwhile, PKK-affiliated prison inmates announced that they will start a hunger strike for an indefinite period to protest Öcalan's jail conditions on Dec. 12.Interior Minister Beşir Atalay told a press conference yesterday that a fight for rights should remain within the limits of law and that violence will not be tolerated. The clashes and protests come at a time when the government is pushing forward with its Kurdish initiative package, which seeks to alleviate separatist terror by extending rights to Kurds. The initiative also risks losing ground if the Constitutional Court decides to shut the DTP down. Children are seen throwing stones at policemen after an illegal demonstration by outlawed PKK sympathizers in Mersin on Sunday. Supreme Court of Appeals Chief Prosecutor Abdurrahman Yalçınkaya in 2007 filed charges against the DTP and demanded the permanent closure of the party. He claimed that the DTP members' actions and statements run counter to the integrity of the state and nation and that the party has become a focal point of these acts.The indictment against the DTP calls for 221 members, including eight of its deputies -- Ahmet Türk, Aysel Tuğluk, Sebahat Tuncel, Osman Özçelik, İbrahim Binici, Sevahir Bayındır, Fatma Kurtulan and Emine Ayna -- to be banned from membership in a political party for five years.One of these 221 individuals mentioned later died, bringing to light that another person on the list was included by mistake. The Constitutional Court, if it decides to ban the party, will elaborate on the situation of the remaining 219 people one by one and reach a verdict on whether to ban them from politics.The indictment also demanded that the DTP be prevented from participating in elections until the case is finalized; that all DTP members, administrators, deputies and mayors are banned from running in elections as independents or representing another party; and that new members are not permitted to join the DTP. However, the Constitutional Court refused to implement those measures in a decision in December 2007, and the DTP was able to run in the local elections in March 2009, in which it won 99 municipalities.The Constitutional Court in July 2008 was able to reach a verdict on the closure case against the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party), which was indicted six months before the DTP, but the AK Party did not request any additional time for its defense.  The Constitution requires that at least seven of the 11 members of the Constitutional Court vote for closure before a party can be disbanded.Law on Political PartiesThe only thing that can really save the DTP from closure is a change to Turkey's infamous Law on Political Parties, long criticized for its anti-democratic aspects. However, the government, blaming its inaction on a lack of support from the opposition, says it is impossible to change the law at this time. Speaking to Today's Zaman, AK Party Deputy Chairman Salih Kapusuz acknowledged that “the DTP's closure will put Turkey in a difficult position. We are aware of that. But there's nothing we can do. The Constitutional Court waited for a long time for the Law on Political Parties to be amended. However, that is impossible after this point. We can only imagine the resistance [from the opposition] we'll face in an attempt to make such a change at this time.”Pundits say it is highly unlikely for the Constitutional Court to not shut the DTP down given the stipulations of the current Law on Political Parties. The AK Party also believes that the DTP's closure is almost a certainty. Jurists note that a ceremony organized by the DTP to welcome back a group of PKK militants who surrendered as part of the government's Kurdish initiative is more than likely to be considered proof of the link between the DTP and the terrorist group -- what prosecutors base their closure demand on.Atalay told journalists that they are against party closures in democratic regimes.The closure of the DTP will inevitably undermine the government's Kurdish initiative. AK Party parliamentary group Deputy Chairman Bekir Bozdağ told Today's Zaman: “We have from the start objected to political party closures and made an effort to make the necessary changes to the Constitution and the Law on Political Parties. However, these could never be passed due to the uncompromising attitude of opposition parties. After this point, after the start of the Constitutional Court's hearing of the case, it is impossible to talk about a change.”But what is the AK Party's plan in the face of a potential crisis that could stonewall not only the Kurdish initiative but also Turkey's EU harmonization process? The attitude the DTP openly displayed during the reception of PKK returnees in October and subsequent clashes have convinced the government that the DTP does not want to support the Kurdish initiative. The government will be continuing the process without seeking support from the DTP.Another plan the AK Party has laid out is to use the problematic situation to actually reverse the process. It is hoped, and highly expected, that the EU will show a strong reaction to the DTP's closure. The AK Party believes the EU's reaction can make it easier to carry out the Kurdish initiative at home as well as draft and adopt a new Constitution.Meanwhile, the DTP last week announced that all of its deputies would resign from Parliament if the Constitutional Court decides to shut the party down. However, the government has not taken this seriously. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, speaking shortly before his departure to the US on Sunday, said the resignation of a deputy in Parliament was not something for the elected official to decide, but a matter that can be taken up only by the electorate. For DTP deputies to quit, which would make an interim election necessary under Turkish legislation, the General Assembly of Parliament must vote on any resignations. The AK Party has no intention to allow the DTP to put up such a show. Atalay also said in yesterday's press conference that the process of democratization has not been slowed down and that progress has already been seen.On Sunday, İstanbul's Küçükçekmece district was scene to a group of 20 ultranationalists carrying axes and sticks who tried to break into a local DTP office. There were clashes between this group and DTP members. The ultranationalist attackers opened fire at random targets with blank cartridge guns and drew three crescents -- a nationalist symbol -- on the DTP office building's wall. 08 December 2009, TuesdayAYŞE KARABAT/ERCAN YAVUZ  ANKARA