DEM Party Co-Chairs Tülay Hatimoğulları and Tuncer Bakırhan met with representatives of Alevi organizations in Kızılay, in Ankara’s Çankaya district. HDK Co-Spokesperson Ali Kenanoğlu also attended the meeting. DEM Party Commission on Peoples and Beliefs Co-Spokesperson Yüksel Mutlu said developments in the Peace and Democratic Society Process were discussed at the meeting.
Drawing attention to the shared suffering and experiences of struggle of Alevis and Kurds, Bakırhan said they needed to serve as a “bridge” to one another in the process and pursue joint efforts. Saying that the process should be a gain not only for Kurds but also for Alevis and the 86 million people living in Türkiye, Bakırhan stated that the goal was not only peace but also democracy, equal citizenship, rights, the rule of law and a just order. “If the Alevi is equal, the Kurd will be free,” he said.
Bakırhan noted that the initial aim was to end violence and conflict and negotiate the problems, while the second stage would be democracy, the rule of law and a Democratic Republic. He called for joint action for this stage, which would begin with the implementation of the framework law. He called for legal status for cemevis and freedom for all identities.
Why it matters
The interview shows that the Peace and Democratic Society Process is not viewed as being limited solely to security and conflict issues, and that Alevis’ demands for equal citizenship have also been incorporated into the process’s political framework. This approach addresses the Kurdish issue and the Alevis’ struggle for rights together on the common ground of democracy and the rule of law. The demand for legal status for cemevis and freedom for identities brings to the fore the question of which concrete regulations will be used to measure the process’s social impact. Linking the transition from the first stage to the second stage to the implementation of the framework law makes the scope and manner of implementation of the legislation critical. How Alevi organizations will respond to the call for joint struggle stands as one of the issues that will determine whether the process’s social base will expand.
Background
The party is not a new name in the FikirPilot archive: over the past 90 days, we have published 11 reports mentioning this name; the most recent is dated 16 September 2026.