The leader of the radical Islamist Free Cause Party (HÜDA-PAR), the political arm of Kurdish Hizbullah and an ally of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has called for the annulment of a constitutional article that prohibits making or proposing amendments to the first three articles of the Turkish Constitution.
HÜDA-Par leader Zekeriya Yapıcıoğlu made the controversial remarks during recent a TV program, which attracted widespread criticism for targeting the foundation of the Turkish Republic.
Article 4 of the constitution concerns “irrevocable provisions” regarding the form of the state as a republic, the characteristics of the republic as a democratic, secular and social state governed by rule of law, the country’s “indivisible entity” and Turkish as the official language as well as the flag, national anthem and the capital city, which are mentioned in the first three articles of the constitution.
Yapıcıoğlu said his party is against the presence of “irrevocable provisions” in the constitution, which he said is tantamount to seizing the will of the future generations. He said the first three articles of the constitution should be opened to debate and amended if necessary.
According to Ali Haydar Fırat, a member of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), Article 4 of the Turkish Constitution is a guarantee for the protection of the first three articles and that annulling this article would be an attack on the foundation of the state.
There was also much criticism on social media, with many accusing HÜDA-PAR of attacking the founding principles of the Turkish Republic.
Founded in 2012 on the ashes of the outlawed Kurdish Hizbullah, an extremist Sunni group that emerged in southeastern Turkey in 1985, HÜDA-PAR won four seats in the Turkish parliament in the May 2023 elections, thanks to its alliance with Erdoğan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).
The alliance between the AKP and HÜDA-PAR has faced harsh criticism for the latter’s alleged ties to Hizbullah and for its regressive stance on social issues.
Critics argue that such an alliance contradicts the principles of a democratic society. Hizbullah has been accused of kidnappings, torture and targeted assassinations, predominantly aimed at individuals linked to Kurdish political movements.