MESOP SHORT CUTS : HDP ministers resign from interim government

Two ministers from Turkey pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) have resigned from their positions in the interim government in protest to the government’s handling of escalating violence in Turkey’s predominantly Kurdish Southeast and warned that the security of the upcoming November 1 general election was at risk.

The resignation of Development Minister Muslum Dogan and EU Affairs Minister Ali Haydar Konca came during a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday and was first announced by the HDP in a statement, Zaman daily said. The resignations come amid an upsurge of violence between security forces and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and are likely to exacerbate political tensions ahead of the election. Reports in the media have quoted sources within the Prime Ministry who said that Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has accepted the resignations and will appoint successors as soon as possible. The two ministers will be replaced by “independent” figures rather than HDP deputies.