Erdogan Has Justifications for Everything

• 11.10.2016, 21:14
•  Region,  Near East,  World

Reuters

Arrest of opposition MPs from the pro-Kurdish People's Party Democracy (HDP) threatens to escalate into a serious political crisis for Turkey. Even in Turkey, where especially after a failed coup attempt, the repression and political persecution has become quite common, arrest of deputies simply unprecedented. So, the main opposition Republican People's Party described the arrest of HDDP deputies unconstitutional, which caused anger in Ankara. "They will pay for it," Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoganin said in this connection, adding that no party can attack the president and the government with such statements. According to Ankara, Deputies' arrest is constitutional, taking into account the constitutional amendments, adopted in Turkey a few months ago, that those MPs against whom investigation is being conducted by the judicial authorities, can be deprived of their immunity.

It should be noted, that even then it was quite obvious, amendments adopted were directed against the Kurdish party deputies. The Turkish authorities have repeatedly accused the deputies of the party in connection with the Kurdistan Workers' Party, which is considered as a terrorist group in Turkey. In August of this year, the Turkish prosecutor's office said it was ready to initiate a criminal case against HDP chairman and one of the main opponents of Erdogan, Selahattin Demirtaş for propaganda of terrorist organizations: in particular, a criminal case is connected with the speeches of Demirtaş in 2013 in support of PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan.

Thus, the controversial arrest of Kurdish deputies by Erdogan has absolutely constitutional foundations, however, another question is the validity of the accusations. In this regard it should be noted that Erdogan has repeatedly stated that "Turkey has no Kurdish question ", there is the problem of terrorism," and in this context, the protection of the interests of the Kurds can be submitted by the Turkish authorities as a propaganda of terrorism.

With the arrest of Kurdish deputies Erdogan solves two problems at once: Kurdish voices are becoming increasingly inaudible, at the same time it removes another obstacle to the country's transition to a presidential form of government, excluding the presence of the Kurdish deputies in the parliament.