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Denk (political party)

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Denk
LeaderStephan van Baarle
ChairmanEjder Köse[1]
Leader in the House
of Representatives		Stephan van Baarle
FoundersTunahan Kuzu
Selçuk Öztürk
Founded9 February 2015
Split fromLabour Party
HeadquartersLodewijk Pincoffsweg 503, Rotterdam
Youth wingJongerenbeweging Oppositie[2]
Think tankWetenschappelijk Instituut Statera[3]
Membership (2024)Increase 3,594[4]
Ideology
Political positionCentre-left[17] to left-wing[18]
Colours  Turquoise
  Orange
Senate
0 / 75
House of Representatives
3 / 150
Provincial councils
0 / 570
Website
bewegingdenk.nl

Denk (Dutch: [dɛŋk], Turkish: [dæɲc]; Dutch for 'think' and Turkish for 'equal' / 'balanced'),[19] legally registered as Politieke Beweging Denk ("Political Movement Denk"),[20] is a political party in the Netherlands, founded on a minority rights platform.[21]

The party was founded by Tunahan Kuzu and Selçuk Öztürk, two Turkish Dutch members of the House of Representatives, after leaving the Labour Party on 13 November 2014. Upon winning three seats at the 2017 election, Denk became the first migrant-founded party to gain seats in the Dutch national parliament.[22]

Although the party has been colloquially described as a "Muslim political party", Denk "does not promote Muslim candidates as do most similar political parties in Europe".[12] Denk's current party leader and lijsttrekker in the House of Representatives, Stephan van Baarle, is an agnostic.[23]

History

[edit]

Denk was founded by Tunahan Kuzu and Selçuk Öztürk after leaving the Labour Party on 13 November 2014. Their resignations were prompted by proposals by Deputy Prime Minister and party leader Lodewijk Asscher that a number of Turkish Islamist organisations be monitored for interfering with the integration of Dutch citizens of Muslim origin.[24] This came after an internal party debate sparked by a report incorrectly stating that 90% of young Turkish Dutch supported ISIS.[25][26] On 9 February 2015, they named their parliamentary group "Denk", and they published a political manifesto for the establishment of a movement focused on a tolerant society through measures such as the introduction of a registry of racists who could not be hired by the government.[27]

The results from the 2017 election ensured that Kuzu and Öztürk would remain in parliament together with new arrival Farid Azarkan, who is the current party leader.

Manifesto

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The movement drew up a political manifesto in February 2015, from which the political party Denk emerged in November 2016.[28][29][non-primary source needed]

The Denk programme argues for the following five points:

  • a tolerant society in which we accept each other.
  • a caring society in which we look out for each other.
  • a learning society in which we utilize everyone's talents.
  • a sustainable society where we have to think about our environment.
  • a just society, promoting international justice.

The movement wants to establish a monument in memory of labor, and they want knowledge of migration history as a key target in education. They propose that the term "integration" should be replaced by the word "acceptance". The movement would abolish the term "immigrant".[clarification needed] It notes that people with a non-western background are less likely to find a job or internship and often have negative experiences with law enforcement. The manifesto states that racism in the Netherlands is structural and institutional in nature and therefore wants a so-called "racism registry" to be set up, in which manifestations of racism are registered.[clarification needed][citation needed]

The movement proposes that in education, diversity in the classroom is commensurate with the diversity of the class (including the teacher). The movement has a policy that in every school in the Netherlands, both in primary and secondary education, study of Chinese, Arabic, and Turkish must be introduced as optional subjects. According to the movement, education in these languages will be useful for the country's economy and international relations. According to the manifesto, imams should not only be appointed to mosques, but also in health care, prisons and the armed forces.

Denk's view is that the United Nations and its Security Council need fundamental reform and that the European Union should pursue an independent foreign policy. The movement wants to tackle Islamic extremism by tackling its root causes, which, according to the party, consist of hopelessness, social exclusion, and injustice. On the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, the party advocates that Europe strengthen the international position of Palestine and that the Netherlands recognize the State of Palestine.

The party carries the program advanced by the International Institute for Scientific Research, based in The Hague, with the purpose of decolonization.[12] Among its policies, Denk seeks to: establish a "racism register" to track and condemn the use of hate speech against religion; build a Dutch slavery museum; abolish the black character Zwarte Piet ("Black Pete"); and ban the use of the Dutch word "Allochtoon" which it considers as derogatory towards ethnic minorities in the Netherlands.[12]

The party has been described as pro-immigration[30][19][31] and supporting multiculturalism,[32][33] as well as being identified with identity politics.[34]

The party BIJ1 was founded by Sylvana Simons when she left Denk in 2016, and the two parties overlap substantially on minority rights issues but are divergent on cultural liberal aspects (wherein Denk is more conservative).

Electorate

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The party mainly attracts support from ethnic minorities in the Netherlands, especially from the Turkish and Moroccan population. Correspondingly the support for Denk is the strongest in cities and towns with a significant migrant population, especially in larger cities such as Amsterdam and Rotterdam. In these cities the support for the party is concentrated in majority-minority districts, such as Nieuw-West in Amsterdam or Kanaleneiland in Utrecht, gaining between 30 and 40% of the votes in those districts.[35]

Controversy

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Support for the AK Party

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See also: Long arm of Ankara

The two leaders and founders of the party have been criticized for being "closely linked to the AK Party" of Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and "do not criticize Erdogan and Turkish government policies". Some critics in the Dutch media have called the party the "long arm of Erdoğan" for its perceived support of the party line of the Turkish government and the ruling AK Party.[19][36][7][37] The party was the sole party in the Netherlands that did not call for the release of a Turkish-Dutch blogger who was arrested for a tweet about Erdoğan.[7] The party has also been heavily criticized for refusing to distance itself from the purges in Turkey since 2016.[19] However, as Denk's leader, Kuzu distanced himself from comments of Erdoğan in which the Turkish president called Dutch authorities "Nazi remnants and fascists",[38][39] labelling those comments "incorrect" and "very troublesome".[40]

The Diyanet, a Turkish governmental unit, has allowed Denk to promote itself in Diyanet-controlled Dutch mosques. There are 146 such mosques as of 2018.[37]

The party's program for the 2017 general election, in the context of the Armenian genocide, mourns both the Turkish and the Armenian sides, while calling for an "independent international investigation". Denk claims that there is no consensus regarding the scale and cause of the tragedy, and calls for "reason and unification". Within that framework, the party does not use the term genocide.[29][non-primary source needed] Denk was the sole party which voted against a bill recognizing the Armenian Genocide.[8]

Targeting Turkish Dutch politicians

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In March 2020, Denk was condemned by fellow members of the House of Representatives for releasing videos of MPs of Turkish descent from other parties, in which they are portrayed, for example, as "traitors" to the Turkish-Dutch community.[41]

Elected representatives

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In the 2023 Dutch general election, three MPs from Denk were elected:[42]

Electoral results

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House of Representatives

[edit]
Election Lead candidate List Votes % Seats +/– Government
2017 Tunahan Kuzu List 216,147 2.1
3 / 150
 New Opposition
2021 Farid Azarkan List 211,053 2.0
3 / 150
 Steady 0 Opposition
2023 Stephan van Baarle List 246,765 2.4
3 / 150
 Steady 0 Opposition

European Parliament

[edit]
Election Lead candidate List Votes % Seats +/–
2019 Ayhan Tonça List 60,669 1.1
0 / 26
 New
0 / 29
 Steady

See also

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References

[edit]
  1. ^ Website Denk Archived 17 January 2021 at the Wayback Machine, BewegingDENK.nl
  2. ^ "Jongerenbeweging OPPOSITIE". jboppositie.nl. Archived from the original on 20 June 2021. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  3. ^ "DENK". parlement.com. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  4. ^ "Ledentallen Nederlandse politieke partijen per 1 januari 2024" [Membership of Dutch political parties as of 1 January 2024]. University of Groningen (in Dutch). Documentation Centre Dutch Political Parties. 28 February 2024. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
  5. ^ Wiegman, Marcel (24 March 2018). "Denk vindt de Turkse stem in Amsterdam". Het Parool (in Dutch).
  6. ^ "Een gelukkige Turk is niet blij met Denk". RTL Nieuws (in Dutch). 23 March 2018.
  7. ^ a b c "How will Turkish Germans vote in the country's upcoming election?". Deutsche Welle. 24 August 2017.
  8. ^ a b "Tweede Kamer erkent Armeense genocide". ad.nl (in Dutch). Algemeen Dagblad. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  9. ^ Boon, Floor (4 June 2020). "Denk: trouwe achterban, crisis of niet". NRC.
  10. ^ "Nieuwe Denk-leider Azarkan mikt op zes zetels en wil meebesturen". nos.nl. 26 September 2020.
  11. ^ a b "De DENK-stemmer: progressief én conservatief?". 22 January 2018.
  12. ^ a b c d Spektorowski, Alberto; Elfersy, Daphna (2020), From Multiculturalism to Democratic Discrimination: The Challenge of Islam and the Re-emergence of Europe's Nationalism, University of Michigan Press, p. 204, ISBN 9780472132164
  13. ^ Blankvoort, Medy (20 March 2019). Ethnic outbidding and the emergence of DENK in the Netherlands (Masters). Leiden University. hdl:1887/68915.
  14. ^ "DENK wil burger heropvoeden. Waar zagen we dat eerder? - EW". EWmagazine.nl (in Dutch). 16 November 2016. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
  15. ^ "Na DENK wil Simons zich inzetten voor homorechten - EW". EWmagazine.nl. 27 December 2016.
  16. ^ "Verstandshuwelijk in het Rotterdamse stadsbestuur: 'Denk en Leefbaar delen meer dan je verwacht'". 18 June 2022.
  17. ^ "Tweede Kamer Verkiezingen: Achter de schermen bij het Kieskompas". 5 March 2021.
  18. ^ "Netherlands". Europe Elects.
  19. ^ a b c d "6 most eyecatching fringe parties in the Dutch election". Politico. 3 February 2017.
  20. ^ Kiesraad (22 April 2016). "Register - Verkiezingen - Kiesraad.nl". www.kiesraad.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 6 September 2020.
  21. ^ Siegal, Nina (29 July 2016). "A Pro-Immigrant Party Rises in the Netherlands". The New York Times. Retrieved 2 September 2017.
  22. ^ Otjesa, Simon; Krouwel, André (2018), "Why do newcomers vote for a newcomer? Support for an immigrant party", Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 45 (7), Routledge: 1
  23. ^ Van Baarle, Stephan (17 February 2018). "Integratie is een kunstmatige term" [Integration is an artificial term]. nrc.nl (Interview) (in Dutch). Interviewed by Elsje Jorritsma and Eppo König. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  24. ^ "Dutch party expels two Turkish-origin lawmakers - World News". Hürriyet Daily News. 14 November 2014.
  25. ^ "The Netherlands' migrant parties: Representing the new Europeans - Qantara.de". Qantara.de - Dialogue with the Islamic World. 22 May 2019.
  26. ^ "Onderzoek over IS-steun Turkse jongeren deugde niet". Volkskrant. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
  27. ^ Kuzu, Tunahan; Öztürk, Selçuk (9 February 2015). "Ex-PvdA'ers komen met nieuwe partij in een 'naar Geert Wilders gevormde wereld'" [Former Labour Party members introduce new party in a 'world shaped by Geert Wilders']. Het Parool (Interview) (in Dutch). Interviewed by Marcel Wiegman. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
  28. ^ "Een Nieuke Politieke Beweging" (PDF). Bewegingdenk.nl. Retrieved 11 March 2017.
  29. ^ a b "Denkend Aan Nederland" (PDF). Bewegingdenk.nl. Retrieved 11 March 2017.
  30. ^ "A Pro-Immigrant Party Rises in the Netherlands". The New York Times. 29 July 2016.
  31. ^ "Ethnic minorities desert Labour, turn to Denk ahead of March vote". Dutch News. 6 February 2017.
  32. ^ Siegal, Nina (29 July 2016). "A Pro-Immigrant Party Rises in the Netherlands". The New York Times. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
  33. ^ "DENK: The Long Needed Multicultural Party?". 25 July 2016. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
  34. ^ "The Dutch election suggests a new kind of identity politics". The Economist. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
  35. ^ "Uitslagenkaart Tweede Kamerverkiezingen 2017 per stembureau". NRC (in Dutch). Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  36. ^ "Turkse coup in Den Haag". RTL Nieuws (in Dutch). 3 April 2020. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  37. ^ a b Öztürk, Ahmet Erdi; Sözeri, Semiha (2018). "Diyanet as a Turkish Foreign Policy Tool: Evidence from the Netherlands and Bulgaria". Religion and Politics Section of the American Political Science Association. 11 (3): 3, 12–13, 15. doi:10.1017/S175504831700075X. S2CID 148657630. Archived from the original on 17 April 2019.
  38. ^ "Turkey's Erdogan calls Dutch authorities 'Nazi remnants'". BBC News. 11 March 2017. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
  39. ^ Van Outeren, Emilie (17 March 2017). "Kuzu neemt een beetje afstand". NRC Handelsblad (in Dutch). p. 10. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
  40. ^ "Denk-voorman Kuzu noemt uitspraken Erdogan 'onjuist'". NU.nl (in Dutch). ANP/Nu.nl. 24 March 2017.
  41. ^ van der Aa, Edwin (13 March 2020). "Kamer veroordeelt Denk om intimiderende filmpjes". Algemeen Dagblad (in Dutch). Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  42. ^ Kassam, Ashifa (24 November 2023). "'It's scary': residents in Rotterdam reflect on Geert Wilders' election win". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
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