MESOP : ERDOGAN’S TERRIBLE “TABULA RASA” – Motion to lift HDP deputies’ immunity in Turkish parliament

10 March 2016 – A summary of proceedings asking for the removal of the parliamentary immunities of five Turkey pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) deputies, including co-chairs Selahattin Demirtas and Figen Yuksekdag, has been submitted to the parliament speaker.The demand, which was prepared by a prosecutor in the southeastern province of Diyarbakir and submitted to the Justice Ministry on Feb. 4, accuses the deputies of “provoking the people” and “being a member of an armed organization,” referring to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).The ministry then sent the demand to the Prime Ministry, Anadolu Agency reported on March 4.

Probes against the lawmakers were launched over crimes against the constitutional order after they attended a meeting of the Democratic Society Congress (DTK) in the southeastern province of Diyarbakir between Dec. 26 and 27, 2015.The establishment of “democratic autonomous regions” was presented as a solution to the Kurdish problem during the meetings in Diyarbakir.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has urged parliament and the judiciary to take steps to lift the immunities of HDP deputies.Ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) officials have repeatedly said they are against closures of parties but they have not ruled out judicial acts against individual lawmakers. The deputies who face losing their immunities include Sirri Sureyya Onder, who was an active member of a HDP group that was involved in talks with jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan during the now-failed “peace process.”The other two deputies are Ertugrul Kurkcu from Izmir and Selma Irmak from Hakkari.