Reactions from the Western world over arrests of pro-Kurdish lawmakers in Turkey

Turkish authorities arrested the leaders of the country’s main pro-Kurdish opposition party in a terrorism investigation on Friday, drawing strong international condemnation from the Western World. Selahattin Demirtas and Figen Yuksekdag, co-leaders of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), were jailed pending trial after being held in overnight raids, officials said. Ten other HDP lawmakers were also detained, although some were later released. Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim told reporters: “Turkey is a nation of laws, nobody has preferential treatment before the law … What has been done is within the rule of law.”

The arrest of elected members of the Turkish parliament’s third largest party, and the detention or suspension of more than 110,000 officials since a failed coup in July, may “go beyond what is permissible”, the U.N. human rights office said.

The United States expressed deep concern, while Germany and Denmark summoned Turkish diplomats over the Kurdish detentions, and European Parliament President Martin Schulz said the actions “call into question the basis for the sustainable relationship between the EU and Turkey”.

Some EU officials expressed concerns about the arrest of pro-Kurdish deputies in Turkey. EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said calling for a meeting of EU ambassadors in Ankara, Reuters reported. “We expect Turkey to safeguard its parliamentary democracy, including respect for human rights and the rule of law, and we are conveying these expectations directly to the Turkish authorities,” Mogherini said .

SOURCE: WEB MEDIA