Opposition boycotts parliament in Turkey
June 29, 2011, Wednesday
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LEGISLATORS from Turkey's main opposition party refused to take the oath in parliament's swearing-in ceremony yesterday, joining a Kurdish party boycotting the session in protest at court rulings that stripped a legislator of his seat and refused to release eight others from jail.
The protest by the two opposition parties is a setback to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's pledge to build bridges and seek consensus with the opposition as it prepares to write a new constitution to replace one drafted during military rule. Erdogan won a third term in office in elections on June 12.
The opposition parties argued that the jailed lawmakers are entitled to parliamentary immunity that would free them from jail because they are still on trial and have not been convicted. They are calling on Erdogan's party to rapidly enact changes allowing them to take up their parliamentary seats.
Erdogan initially indicated his party had no immediate plans for an amendment, saying the problem would be solved later with a more democratic constitution. But he softened his stance yesterday saying he was prepared to listen to the opposition's proposals.
Earlier, he criticized the parties for nominating jailed candidates.
"Could they not have found other candidates?" he asked on Monday. "They nominated these people knowing that it would cause such a problem."
Members of the main opposition Republican People's Party attended parliament's opening ceremony but did not take the oath of office. They remained seated as their names were called out and the speaker moved on to the next name on the list. The party won 135 seats in the 550-member parliament.
"We will not be part of this undemocratic approach," party leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu said. "We will not take the oath until the path is opened for our friends to take the oath as well."
Kilicdaroglu argued that opposition parties had in the past supported amendments to parliament that allowed Erdogan to be elected to parliament and become prime minister, despite being jailed in 1999 for reading a poem that the courts deemed to be inflammatory.
Last week, a Kurdish party, which has 35 seats, said it would boycott all parliamentary proceedings until the government takes "concrete steps" to allow the lawmakers to take up seats in the assembly.
Three of the jailed lawmakers are on trial, accused of being part of an alleged secularist plot to bring down Erdogan's government, which has its roots in Turkey's Islamic movement. Two of them - journalist Mustafa Balbay and doctor Mehmet Haberal - were elected on the ticket of Kilicdaroglu's secular party, while the third belongs to the right-wing Nationalist Action Party.
Five independent politicians are on trial for alleged links to the Kurdish rebels, who are fighting Turkish troops for autonomy in southeast Turkey.
The protest by the two opposition parties is a setback to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's pledge to build bridges and seek consensus with the opposition as it prepares to write a new constitution to replace one drafted during military rule. Erdogan won a third term in office in elections on June 12.
The opposition parties argued that the jailed lawmakers are entitled to parliamentary immunity that would free them from jail because they are still on trial and have not been convicted. They are calling on Erdogan's party to rapidly enact changes allowing them to take up their parliamentary seats.
Erdogan initially indicated his party had no immediate plans for an amendment, saying the problem would be solved later with a more democratic constitution. But he softened his stance yesterday saying he was prepared to listen to the opposition's proposals.
Earlier, he criticized the parties for nominating jailed candidates.
"Could they not have found other candidates?" he asked on Monday. "They nominated these people knowing that it would cause such a problem."
Members of the main opposition Republican People's Party attended parliament's opening ceremony but did not take the oath of office. They remained seated as their names were called out and the speaker moved on to the next name on the list. The party won 135 seats in the 550-member parliament.
"We will not be part of this undemocratic approach," party leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu said. "We will not take the oath until the path is opened for our friends to take the oath as well."
Kilicdaroglu argued that opposition parties had in the past supported amendments to parliament that allowed Erdogan to be elected to parliament and become prime minister, despite being jailed in 1999 for reading a poem that the courts deemed to be inflammatory.
Last week, a Kurdish party, which has 35 seats, said it would boycott all parliamentary proceedings until the government takes "concrete steps" to allow the lawmakers to take up seats in the assembly.
Three of the jailed lawmakers are on trial, accused of being part of an alleged secularist plot to bring down Erdogan's government, which has its roots in Turkey's Islamic movement. Two of them - journalist Mustafa Balbay and doctor Mehmet Haberal - were elected on the ticket of Kilicdaroglu's secular party, while the third belongs to the right-wing Nationalist Action Party.
Five independent politicians are on trial for alleged links to the Kurdish rebels, who are fighting Turkish troops for autonomy in southeast Turkey.
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