Deputies threw punches, pushed and tried to restrain each other in
the assembly late in a row over military operations targeting Kurdish
militants. (Reuters)
Reuters
Thursday, 28 April 2016
Brawls between lawmakers from Turkey’s ruling AK Party and the
pro-Kurdish opposition have delayed efforts to pass legislation on a
migration deal with the European Union and parliament has been adjourned
until Monday.
Deputies threw punches,
pushed and tried to restrain each other in the assembly late on
Wednesday in a row over military operations targeting Kurdish militants
in Turkey’s largely Kurdish southeast.
The
acting speaker announced at the end of Wednesday’s session that,
following these scuffles, the parliament would now not meet again in
full session until Monday.
Lawmakers had
been expected to work on Friday and Saturday on legislation needed for
Turks to secure visa-free travel to Europe, a key part of Ankara’s deal
with the European Union on stopping uncontrolled migration to Europe.
Brussels
aims to propose waiving visas for Turks on May 4 but that is strongly
opposed by some EU member states. The EU has said Turkey fully meets
fewer than half of the 72 criteria and that its conditions will not be
softened.
The fierce exchanges erupted
after MP Ferhat Encu from the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party
(HDP) referred to the killing of civilians in military operations
against Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants in the southeast.
Thousands
of militants and hundreds of security force members and civilians have
been killed since the PKK resumed its insurgency last summer after a
2-1/2-year ceasefire, shattering a peace process.
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