Responding to questions over remarks by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who had said the party’s co-chairs should have their parliamentary immunity removed for an investigation into their “constitutional crimes,” HDP co-chair Figen Yüksekdağ used the phrase “bring it on.”
“Our deputies, elected [mayors] and our [party’s] co-chairs have never had immunities so far,” Yüksekdağ said at a press conference in the southeastern province of Van on Jan. 2.
“There is nothing we have not faced and there is nothing left for us to be afraid of. We signed it when the immunities were discussed for the first time. We, with 80 deputies, submitted our petitions [to remove the immunities of lawmakers] to the parliamentary speaker on that day. We said ‘bring it on’ on that day. Those petitions are still there,” said Yüksekdağ.
Prosecutors last week opened a criminal probe against HDP co-chair Selahattin Demirtaş for his comments at a conference before opening a similar investigation against Yüksekdağ.
“What the two co-leaders said is definitely a constitutional crime,” Erdoğan said, speaking to a group of journalists aboard the presidential plane returning to Turkey from Riyadh, where he met with Saudi King Salman bin Abdülaziz al-Saud.
“They should pay a price for it,” he said. “I believe that the lifting of immunity of those against whom the cases have been initiated will help the atmosphere in our country in the fight against terror in a positive way,” Erdoğan added. “We cannot accept statements calling for the country to be broken up. We will never agree to a state within a state.”
Yüksekdağ attended a meeting of the Democratic Society Congress (DTK) held in southeastern Diyarbakır province between Dec. 26, 2015, and Dec. 27, 2015, where the establishment of “democratic autonomous regions” was presented as a solution to the Kurdish problem.
The attendees also asked for “self-governance” and embraced the “legitimate insurgency” in a number of southeastern districts, while also urging the people of Turkey to support their cause.
hurriyetdailynews.com
3/1/16
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Turkey's parliament will set up a committee to consider lifting the immunity of two leaders of the main Kurdish party so they can be tried over their call for autonomy, the pro-government Sabah daily said Sunday...
ReplyDeleteThe report came after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Selahattin Demirtas and Figen Yuksekdag -- the co-leaders of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) -- should have their parliamentary immunity removed for committing a "constitutional crime".
Sabah said that the parliamentary justice commission would form a sub-committee to discuss the issue before putting it to the general chamber.
A simple majority to strip the two MPs of their immunity would suffice in parliament, where the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) holds more than half the seats, it added.
Turkish prosecutors last week opened a criminal probe against Demirtas for his comments at a conference and then opened a similar investigation against Yuksekdag.
Demirtas said last weekend that the Kurdish minority in Turkey had to decide whether to live in autonomy or "under one man's tyranny", in an apparent reference to Erdogan.
The AKP's deputy chairman Selcuk Ozdag told the Hurriyet daily that anyone who "damaged the integrity of the country, supported terror or who hurts unity" should have no immunity...AFP....dailystar.com.lb