Nineteen of the party's 21 parliamentarians can remain in parliament by changing their party affiliation. (The other two, the DTP's co-chairs, were banned from politics for five years.) But observers warn that the court's action could alienate Kurds politically, and lead to increased tension and an upsurge in violence in Turkey's predominantly Kurdish southeast. That, in turn, would likely harden nationalist sentiment among both Turks and Kurds, leaving the government and its reform project stuck between Turkish nationalists on one side and Kurdish nationalists on the other.

The DTP -- the first pro-Kurdish party to serve in parliament since 1991 -- was the latest incarnation of a string of similar parties shut down by the Turkish courts, and the 25th political party to be banned in the country since 1962. In an 11-0 decision handed down on Dec. 11, Turkey's Constitutional Court ruled that the party had become a "focal point" for separatist activity and maintained links with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which is considered a terrorist group by the United States and the European Union.

The court's decision came less than a month after the government of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) unveiled parts of its "democratization initiative" -- or the "Kurdish opening," as some are calling it -- in a historic debate in parliament. The initiative includes the easing of restrictions on private Kurdish-language television stations and Kurdish-language faculties in universities, as well allowing towns and villages to once again use their original Kurdish names.

"Today is the beginning of a new timeline and a fresh start," Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan told parliament during a raucous Nov. 13 debate. "We took a courageous step to resolve chronic issues that constitute an obstacle to Turkey's development, progression and empowerment, and we are very sincere."

Although the government has announced that it will continue with its initiative and even speed up the pace of some reforms, the DTP's closure is certain to put the reform program to the test. The court's decision was met with violent protests in the restive southeast, where two people were already killed after a store owner in one town opened fire on demonstrators protesting the party's closure.

More ominously, violent confrontations also took place between Kurds and Turkish nationalists in Istanbul.

The promise of a "Kurdish opening" had initially increased hope that the Turkish state was changing its previously heavy-handed approach to the Kurdish issue, but observers warn that the DTP's closure could now lead to disillusionment.

"From the Kurdish point of view, this is yet another sign that the state doesn't accept them, that it doesn't represent them, that they are not equal citizens," said Dilek Kurban, an expert on democratization issues at the Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation. "I think this judgment has made it increasingly difficult for Kurds to see a space for themselves in legitimate political life in Turkey."

But the DTP has its own critics, who fault it for not taking advantage of its admission into parliament to develop a more mature brand of Kurdish politics. They cite the need for greater distance between the political and military wings of the Kurdish movement, and less control by Abdullah Ocalan, the PKK's jailed leader.

Although Ocalan remains a force who cannot be ignored, the DTP's politics often seemed to revolve merely around advocating on his behalf and insisting on his inclusion in any Kurdish reform program, positions that -- in the broader Turkish political context -- did little to win the party any sympathy.

The DTP's discourse, meanwhile, had frequently veered between conciliatory and defiant, reflecting an internal split between moderates and hardliners, which further limited the DTP's effectiveness. Although party leaders initially gave the government's reform initiative their support, they later distanced themselves from it.

"For us, the 'democratic initiative' is over," Emine Ayna, a top DTP official recently told the Radikal newspaper in an interview conducted before the party was shut down.

The indictment calling for the DTP's closure was presented to the court in November 2007, only a few months after it entered parliament. Much of the evidence presented against the party actually predated its activity in the legislative body.

But despite the party's flaws, many experts believe that shutting it down will only work to strengthen hardliners in the Kurdish movement. For example, the party's two deputies who were banned from politics for five years, Ahmet Turk and Aysel Tugluk, are considered to be among the Kurdish movement's more moderate voices.

Ultimately, the DTP's closure is another indication that what may really be standing in the way of Turkey's democratization process is its outdated constitution. Written after the country's 1980 military coup, the document is essentially designed to defend the state and its institutions. In a 2008 resolution, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (of which Turkey is a member) criticized Turkey's rules on party closure for having general thresholds that are "too low" and for "deviating from common European democratic standards."

"The court's decision to ban yet another party shows just how urgently constitutional reform is needed to guarantee political participation in Turkey," said Emma Sinclair-Webb, Turkey researcher at Human Rights Watch. "The Democratic Society Party is the latest victim of laws that do not conform with international human rights standards."

The DTP's closing may ultimately present all sides with an opportunity to move forward -- for the Kurds, to rethink the narrowness that has plagued their political movement, and for the rest of Turkey, to move past the self-defeating moves that have marked the country's ethnic politics for decades. It remains to be seen whether either side will seize that opportunity.

**Yigal Schleifer is a freelance journalist based in Istanbul, Turkey, where he works as a correspondent for the Christian Science Monitor and the Eurasianet Web site, covering Turkey and the surrounding region. His work has appeared in the New York Times, Washington Post, Haaretz, the Jerusalem Report, the Times of London, the Walrus and other publications.