Turkish parliamentarians scuffle over detention of pro-Kurdish mayor

ANKARA: Lawmakers from Turkey’s ruling AK Party and the pro-Kurdish DEM party clashed in parliament’s general assembly on Tuesday over the detention of a DEM party mayor in southeastern Turkey and the appointment of a replacement.

On Monday, police detained Mehmet Siddik Akis, the mayor of the southeastern Hakkari province bordering Iran and Iraq, just two months after he won power in local elections. Turkey’s interior ministry said Akis had played a high-level role in the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militia, even though he was appointed governor of the province.

Following the 2019 municipal elections, Turkey detained almost all pro-Kurdish mayors due to alleged PKK ties and replaced them with state officials. The DEM has previously denied any links with the PKK.

Tensions erupted in parliament when Democratic Party lawmakers occupied the speaking platform in the General Assembly and chanted slogans in protest against the arrest of Akis and his replacement with a new member.

“Fight shoulder to shoulder against fascism”, DEM lawmakers chanted, while legislators from President Tayyip Erdogan’s AK Party (AKP) chanted slogans such as “Damn the PKK” and tore down banners held by DEM lawmakers.

The footage showed MPs arguing loudly and pushing each other. A fistfight led to a scuffle that caused some MPs to fall while others restrained themselves from joining the fight.

It was not immediately clear who threw the punch.

After the incident the general assembly was closed for the day.

The main opposition Republican People’s Party also criticized Akis’ detention and the appointment of a new member in his place, calling it an “affront” to the people of Hakkari.

In the March 31 local elections, the DEM confirmed its regional strength by winning 10 provinces in Turkey’s mainly Kurdish southeast.

Turkish authorities accuse the DEM and its pro-Kurdish predecessors of having links to the PKK, which is designated a terrorist group by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.

More than 40,000 people have been killed in the separatist insurgency launched by the PKK against the Turkish state in 1984.

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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – Reuters)