| Submit your comments on this article |
| The Grand Turk |
| Turkish opposition boycotts opening of parliament |
| 2011-06-29 |
| More than 30% of the MPs elected to the Turkish parliament refused to take their oath on Tuesday when parliament met for the first time following elections on June 12. The main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) boycotted the opening ceremony in response to legal decisions last week not to release two party members from detention in a high-profile trial. The two CHP legislators in question have been detained in connection with an investigation into an alleged nationalist network accused of planning to bring down the government. The pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) boycotted the ceremony entirely, after the elections board stripped deputy Hatip Dicle of his seat following a conviction for spreading "terrorist propaganda." Meanwhile, eight elected candidates - five from the BDP, two from the CHP and one nationalist - have been barred from taking up their seats because they are in jail. The Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), the third opposition party, participated in the ceremony, despite the fact that one of its deputies was also not allowed to take his seat due to an ongoing court case. |
| Posted by:ryuge |