Free Cause Party
| Free Cause Party | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Leader | Zekeriya Yapıcıoğlu |
| Founded | 17 December 2012 |
| Headquarters | Ehl-i Beyt Mah. Ceyhun Atıf Kansu Cad. Nehir Apt. No: 117-5 Balgat, Çankaya, Ankara |
| Ideology | Islamic democracy Pan-Islamism Conservatism Social justice |
| Religion | Sunni Islam |
| European affiliation | none |
| International affiliation | none |
| Colours | Green, Yellow, White |
| Website | |
| hudapar.org | |
| Politics of Turkey Political parties Elections |
|
Free Cause Party (Turkish: Hür Dava Partisi, abbreviated as Hüda-Par) is a political party based far-right Sunni Islamist political party in Turkey.
Development
Following the decision to end armed struggle in 2002, activists of the Hizbollah's Menzil group founded an association called "Solidarity with the Oppressed" (Turkish: Mustazaflar ile Dayanışma Derneği or short Mustazaf Der) in 2003.[1] It also became known as the Movement of the Oppressed (Turkish: Mustazaflar Hareketi. On 18 April 2010 Mustazaf Der organized a mass meeting in Diyarbakır to celebrate the anniversary of the Prophet Muhammad’s birthday (known as Mawlid). The Turkish police estimated that the event was attended by 120,000 people. The organizers put the figure at over 300,000.[2]
On 20 April 2010 a court in Diyarbakir ordered the closure of the Association for the Oppressed (Mustazaf-Der) on the grounds that it was “conducting activities on behalf of the terrorist organization Hizbollah.”[2] The decision was confirmed by the Court of Cassation on 11 May 2012.[3]
In late 2012, the Movement of the Oppressed announced its will to found a political party, basically to challenge the hegemony of the social democratic and Kurdish nationalist Peace and Democracy Party.[4] On 17 December 2012, the Free Cause Party (Hür Dava Partisi) was founded.[5] On 9 January 2013 the general headquarters in Ankara was opened.[6] Until mid-February 2013 branches on provincial level were opened in Kayseri Province, Diyarbakır Province, Bingöl Province, Bursa Province, İzmir Province, Van Province, Şanlıurfa Province, Adana Province, Malatya Province, Elazığ Province, and Mersin Province.[7]
Hüda-Par, the abbreviated form of the party's name is synonymous with the Arabic word Hizbollah, both interpreted as the "God's Party", emphasising that the party is a front for the otherwise illegal Hizbollah. Societies affiliated with Hüda-Par operate under the umbrella organisation Lovers of Prophet (Turkish: Peygamber Sevdalıları particularly active in Kurdish Mawlid meetings.[8]
Aims of the party
Islamist party calls for the constitutional recognition of the Kurds and Kurdish language, mother tongue education, the end to the 10 percent election threshold, and the decentralization of state power and strengthening of local administration.[9] The party also advocates for restrictions on the freedom of religion and worship to be lifted, the headscarf ban ended, wants adultery criminalized, and religious marriages to be recognized.[10]
Elections
The results of the 2014 local elections and the general elections of 2015.
| Province[11] | 2014 | Percent | 2015 | Percent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adana | — | — | 3,117 | 0.3% |
| Adıyaman | 1,364 | 0.4% | — | — |
| Batman | 17,104 | 7% | 14,550 | 5.5% |
| Bingöl | 6,410 | 4.9% | 5,424 | 4.2% |
| Bitlis | 1,362 | 0.9% | 1,709 | 1.1% |
| Diyarbakır | 33,245 | 4.6% | 27,532 | 3.4% |
| Elazığ | 1,925 | 0.6% | — | — |
| Mardin | 7,806 | 2.3% | 5,308 | 1.4% |
| Muş | 3,019 | 1.8% | — | — |
| Şanlıurfa | 6,590 | 0.8% | 6,543 | 0.9% |
| Şırnak | 3,371 | 3% | 2,825 | 1.3% |
| Siirt | 961 | 0.7% | — | — |
| Van | 3,251 | 0.7% | 3,093 | 0.6% |
References
- ↑ Compare an article in the daily Radikal of 13 April 2013: Hizbullah: Tebliğ, Cemaat, Cihat; accessed on 15 April 2013
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 See an article of the International Relation and Security Network in Zurih of 15 June 2010 written by Gareth Jenkins A New Front in the PKK Insurgency, accessed on 15 April 2013
- ↑ See an article of the portal timeturk.com Mustazaf-Der resmen kapatıldı! dated 11 May 2012; accessed on 15 April 2013
- ↑ Hüda-Par'ın rakibi BDP mi, AK Parti'mi?. Timeturk.com (2012-12-06). Retrieved on 2013-02-09.
- ↑ Hür Dava Partisi (Hüda-Par) Resmen Kuruldu. Haberdiyarbakir.com (2012-12-17). Retrieved on 2013-02-09.
- ↑ See the corresponding article on the website of the party; accessed on 16 April 2013
- ↑ Relevant article can be found on the website of the party, accessed on 16 April 2013
- ↑ Peygamber Sevdalıları. Retrieved on 2013-02-09.
- ↑ See an article in the Foreign Policy Journal of 31 January 2013: Turkey: Islamist turks enter politics to divide AKP, BDP electorate in the Southeast by Alakbar Raufoglu; accessed on 16 April 2013
- ↑ The complete program of Hüda Par in Turkish can be accessed on the website of the party; accessed on 16 April 2013
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
