Turkey’s Democratic Society Party (DTP) was scheduled to hold a congress on December 14 2009 to decide on its response to a ban by the constitutional court, which outlawed it three days earlier, saying that the DTP had links to the Kurdish guerrilla movement PKK and threatened the integrity of the Turkish state.
 
Police clashed with protesters who took to the streets on December 12 and 13 to protest against the ban.
 
CNN said that on December 13, police user water cannon and tear gas to break up a group of DTP protesters who were throwing stones at them.
 
The DTP said after the constitutional court ruling that its members would withdraw from parliament, but it was left to the December 14 special congress to decide whether they would formally resign.
 
The PKK, which has been conducting an armed campaign against the Turkish state for about 25 years, is classified by the United States, European Union and Turkey as a terrorist organisation.
 
On December 12, the Voice of America reported that about 1000 Kurds clashed with security forces in the city of Hakkari in Turkey's predominantly Kurdish southeast. 
 
The clashes erupted after police broke up a demonstration protesting the closure of the DTP. Similar protests were reported in other towns and cities in the region.
 
On the night of December 11 in Diyarbakir, the main city in the predominantly Kurdish region, crowds chanted "We will go to the mountainous to fight with the PKK", after police broke up their protest. 
 
DTP leader Ahmet Turk said that the court's decision was political, not lawful. He said his party was committed to peace. Turk also blamed the ruling party, the Justice and Development Party, or AKP, for staying silent as his party was being stripped of power.
 
Turkish president Abdullah Gul supported the court's decision but expressed regret that the country's party leaders had not found better ways to protect political parties. 
 
The court decision comes as Turkey seeks to join the EU. 
 
A US state department spokesperson called the ruling Turkey's internal matter, but added that the country should continue to advance political freedoms for all its citizens. The spokesman said measures that "limit or restrain these freedoms should be exercised with extreme caution".
 
On December 14, Today's Zaman quoted Turkey’s EU negotiator Egemen Bağış as having criticised the ruling, saying that instead of shutting down parties, courts should hold irresponsible politicians accountable for actions that might go against the law. He also called for changing the legislation to prevent closures in the future.
 
Sweden, speaking for th Presidency of the EU, expressed its concern about the constitutional court ruling.
 
"While strongly denouncing violence and terrorism, the Presidency recalls that the dissolution of political parties is an exceptional measure that should be used with utmost restraint," the EU Presidency said.
 
"The EU has called on Turkey, as a negotiating country, to make the necessary constitutional amendments to bring its legislation on political parties in line with the recommendations by the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe and relevant provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights."
 
The Presidency would continue to closely monitor further developments, the EU Presidency statement said.