Kurdish Deputy: BDP Will Not Enter Parliament Unless Deputies in Jail Freed
Ahmet Türk, an independent deputy elected in the June 12 elections with the support of the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) Ahmet Türk, an independent deputy who recently won a parliamentary seat with the support of the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP), has said 30 of the 36 BDP-backed deputies elected in the June 12 elections will not enter Parliament unless six deputies from the same bloc who are currently under arrest in the Kurdish Communities Union (KCK) trial are freed. A total of 36 BDP-endorsed independent deputies were elected in the elections, including six jailed suspects in the ongoing KCK trial. The elected independents are expected to gather under the roof of the BDP in Parliament and form a parliamentary group.
However, it is still unclear if those in prison in connection with the KCK trial will be able to acquire parliamentary immunity and enter Parliament. The courts where they are standing trial will decide whether they will be released from prison and enter Parliament or continue their incarceration and be denied the right to enter Parliament.
Türk, an independent deputy from Mardin and the co-chairman of the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Congress (DTK), addressed BDP supporters in Batman on Monday with two other BDP-endorsed deputies, Gülten Kışanak and Ayla Akat Ata. “Our six jailed friends should be freed. Unless those friends are released, we will not enter Parliament and we will not recognize it,” he said.
The six suspects are Gülser Yıldırım, Selma Irmak, Faysal Sarıyıldız, Hatip Dicle, İbrahim Ayhan and Kemal Aktaş. They stand accused of crimes against the constitutional order, which may prevent them from enjoying parliamentary immunity even though they are elected deputies. Courts have the right to not release those who are elected to Parliament if the individuals who won seats in Parliament are on trial for terrorism-related charges. Article 14 of the Constitution clearly states that those who are on trial for crimes against the “territorial integrity of the state” cannot benefit from diplomatic, parliamentary or any other kind of immunity.
One strong reaction to Türk’s statements came from Parliament Speaker Mehmet Ali Şahin, who said nobody should put pressure on the judiciary with such remarks. “I do not think that a colleague like Ahmet Türk, who has much political experience, could have made such a statement. If he did, I do not know what his purpose was. However, this issue does not concern either Parliament or the government. It directly concerns the judiciary. The only authority to make a decision on this issue is the judiciary. Nobody should threaten the judiciary and put pressure on it with such statements,” he told reporters on Monday.
When asked about Türk’s remarks in which he said they will not recognize Parliament, Şahin said, “Parliament’s recognition of them is important, rather than their recognition of Parliament.”
20 June 2011
SOURCE: TODAYS ZAMAN
