Turkish Parliament Members Brawl Over Potential Constitutional Amendment
The proposed amendment, which would strip lawmakers of their immunity from prosecution, incited violence between members of opposing parties.
Members of Turkey's parliament fighting earlier this week. (Screen shot via YouTube)
Members of Turkey’s parliament fighting earlier this week. (Screen shot via YouTube)
The next time you get fed up with the partisan politics of the United States Congress, take a look back at the Turkish parliamentary session on Monday night, which ended in a huge fight.
A committee within the Turkish Parliament passed a bill that, if approved, would remove legislators’ immunity and potentially trigger investigations of certain Parliament members. Members of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party believe the bill “is designed to target them and suppress dissent,” Reuters reports.
Shortly before the bill was approved by the committee, a fight broke out between members of the Peoples’ Democratic Party and the AK Party, which currently holds power.
According to the BBC, “several parliamentarians were injured in the fighting.”
Reuters continues:
President Tayyip Erdogan, who founded the AKP, has called for members of the HDP to face prosecution, accusing them of being an extension of the outlawed militant group, the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). The HDP rejects the accusation. …
The AKP has declared its support for the bill, as have the other opposition parties, apart from the HDP, potentially giving the measure the support of up to 489 seats in parliament. However, the vote will be held by secret ballot and there are expectations that many members of the main opposition could vote against it.
This is not the first time Turkish parliamentary debates have ended in a brawl. In 2014, for example, discussions over reforms to the Turkish judiciary system left one member with a broken nose. Although American politicians often exchange harsh words, no all-out brawl has erupted in the U.S. Congress since 1858.
–Posted by Emma Niles
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