Turkey will hold the general and presidential elections on May 14. For many, this is an opportunity to replace the Islamist government, AKP, and its leader, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who have governed the country since 2002 with an iron fist. While the opposition united against Erdogan, he has also established new alliances with smaller political parties, including the controversial offshoot of the Hizbullah in Turkey, Hüda-Par.
Dr Mashuq Kurt joined several TV programs and podcasts broadcasting in English and Turkish in the past week to share his observations and analysis about forming alliances ahead of the Turkish general elections on May 14, 2023.
He discusses the historical and sociological trajectory of a small Kurdish Islamist Party, Hüda-Par, and its violent past as an underground armed organization known as Hizbullah.
Hizbullah in Turkey differs from its Lebanese namesake as it is a Sunni Islamist organization originating from the Kurdish region. They were utilized by the dark forces during the civil war in the 1990s and are responsible for the execution of over 500 Kurdish citizens.
The group legalised its activities in the mid-2000s and opened a political party, Hüda-Par, in 2012. Hüda-Par has officially joined the governing coalition of Cumhur Alliance ahead of the upcoming elections. Their participation in the alliance triggered concerns and fear because of their violent pasts and ultra-conservative, anti-feminist and anti-LGBT positions.
Mashuq Kurt puts all these dynamics into a sociological and historical context.
