The Democratic Society Congress (, ) is a pro-Kurdish NGO favouring the implementation of

Democratic Confederalism Democratic confederalism ( ku, Konfederalîzma demokratîk), also known as Kurdish communalism or Apoism, is a political concept theorized by Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Öcalan about a system of democratic self-organization ...

in Turkish politics. Its foundation congress was held between 26-29 October 2007.

Structure

It has 2 co-chairs, a chairman and a chairwoman, a general assembly with 501 delegates, an executive council of 21 members and several committees. 40% of the delegates of the general assembly are represented by labour unions, civil society organizations and political parties, 40% are representatives from local assemblies. The congress meets approximately every 3 months to discuss the resolutions which come from the distinct committees. The DTK has assemblies in several administrative subdivisions like in districts, cities, villages and neighborhoods. For each street in a neighborhood, there should exist a commune. These are then followed by assemblies in their respective neighborhood, town, city or region. Each commune is independent in their decision making process but is still in a relationship with their respective neighborhood council which coordinates the decisions in the different communes. The DTK has an executive committee of 5 members, a coordination council with 13 members and a permanent assembly of 101 delegates. Several committees are formed by the DTK. * Economy commission * Women's commission * Ecology and Local Government commission * Youth commission * Faith commission *Health * Diplomacy commission * Status and Law commission * Art and Cultural commission * Science commission *Human Rights commission *Political Affairs Commission

Ideology

On 14 July 2011 it announced its support for Democratic Autonomy after having held an extraordinary congress in

Diyarbakır Diyarbakır (; ; ; ) is the largest Kurdish-majority city in Turkey. It is the administrative center of Diyarbakır Province. Situated around a high plateau by the banks of the Tigris river on which stands the historic Diyarbakır Fortress, ...

with 850 participants. The DTK is also active in the solution finding process for the Kurdish-Turkish conflict in Turkey and issued a proposal for a political solution in December 2015. According to this proposal it was supported the idea of issuing a new constitution after which Turkey would be structured into several democratic autonomous regions represented in the

Grand National Assembly of Turkey The Grand National Assembly of Turkey ( tr, ), usually referred to simply as the TBMM or Parliament ( tr, or ''Parlamento''), is the unicameral Turkish legislature. It is the sole body given the legislative prerogatives by the Turkish Consti ...

Prosecution of sympathizers and members

Its members are often prosecuted by the Turkish authorities, and the attendance of events organized by the DTK can be viewed as a reason of prosecution as was the case for

Evrensel ''Evrensel'' (English: Universal) is a Turkish daily newspaper. History and profile ''Evrensel'' was founded on 7 June 1995. The issues captured and written are from a socialist perspective. The paper is different from other Turkish newspapers in ...

writer Yusuf Karataş. Also the attendance of a DTK congress as annon member can be viewed as a reason for prosecution has stated the DTK. Numerous raids were conducted at the delegates houses that were on the list which was confiscated during a search in October 2018. Also,

Leyla Güven Leyla Güven (born 6 May 1964, Cihanbeyli, Konya Province, Konya, Turkey) is Peoples' Democratic Party (Turkey), HDP MP for Hakkari (electoral district), Hakkari, co-chair of the Democratic Society Congress (DTK) and former mayor of the municipali ...

, received a demand to resign from the post of co-chair of the DTK by the Turkish authorities. Despite the legal existence of the DTK, a membership in the DTK was deemed as an evidence of being a member in a criminal organization in the indictment of the closure case of the pro-Kurdish HDP.

Leaders

{, class="wikitable" , +Co-Chairs of the DTK ! colspan="2" , Co-Chairs !Term , - , Yüksel Genç ,

Hatip Dicle Mehmet Hatip Dicle (born 1955, Diyarbakir, Turkey), is a Kurdish politician from Turkey. He was a member of the Democracy Party, the of the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP). Early life and education Dicle grew up in a family with Islamic value ...

, 2007-2010 , - ,

Aysel Tuğluk Aysel Tuğluk (; born 17 July 1965 in Elâzığ, Turkey) is a Kurdish politician from Turkey and was a founding member of the Democratic Society Party (DTP) in Turkey. Aysel Tuğluk is currently imprisoned at the Kocaeli F-Type Prison, located n ...

Ahmet Türk Ahmet Türk (born 2 July 1942, Derik, Turkey) is a Turkish politician of Kurdish origin from the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP). He has been a member of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey for several terms and was elected twice as the May ...

, 2010-2014 , - ,

Selma Irmak Selma Irmak (born 8 March 1971, Kızıltepe, Turkey), is a Kurds in Turkey, Kurdish politician from Turkey and former MP for the Peace and Democracy Party (Turkey), Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) and Peoples' Democratic Party (Turkey), People`s ...

, 2014-2016 , - ,

, 2016-2017 , - ,

, Berdan Öztürk , 2017

References

Kurdish organisations