Two faced **** of the year award

[JohnF]

Good article by Murat Yetkin in the HDN today:

President Tayyip Erdoğan bombed Turkish politics as he departed for China on July 28 with his words about the Kurdish problem-focused Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) in the Turkish Parliament.

The president said that he was in principle against the closure of political parties but that parliamentary immunities of HDP deputies should be lifted through a parliamentary vote, so that they could “pay for” their “dealings with the organizations of terror” before the court.

Well, I wonder what his definition is of an "organisation of terror"... 

Demirtas replied to this with an absolute cracker:

Within hours, Selahattin Demirtaş, co-chairman of the HDP, addressed his party in parliament, saying that all 80 MPs of the HDP were to submit petitions to the parliament on July 29 for the lifting of their immunities. “We are not afraid of you,” he challenged the Justice and Development Party (AK Parti) in power; “If you are not afraid as well, let’s lift the immunities altogether.”

I've said this before, but the more I hear from and read of Demirtas, the more i like the guy. 

JF

[usedbustickets]

Yep a great response.

No surprise with Reg's original statement though, as he tries to woo former AKP and Turkish nationalist voters back or to the AKP in the upcoming 'snap' elections when the attempts to form a coalition government collapse, as Reg foresees and plans for.

What will be interesting then is whether the large numbers of AKP supporting Kurds continue to vote for Reg with this anti Kurdish stance or switch in large numbers to the Kurdish/left alliance that is the HDP.  You'd think it would be an easy choice, but the Kurdish 'god botherers' are often more conservative than their Turkish 'brothers', so it is no forgone conclusion.

Don't forget should there be a snap election, that we need the HDP vote to continue to be above the 10% threshold otherwise all their votes get distributed to the other parties, disproportionately benefiting the AKP...and hey presto Reg gets his AKP majority.

[JohnF]

we need the HDP vote to continue to be above the 10% threshold otherwise all their votes get distributed to the other parties, disproportionately benefiting the AKP

We need at this point, the HDP to continue to exist.  The AK party have now made criminal complaints against the HDP citing articles 68 & 69 of the constitution which really made me smile.

Part of Article 68: They shall not aim to promote or establish a class or group dictatorship or a dictatorship of any kind, nor shall they incite citizens to crime.

Now then, I wonder who has been guilty of that recently...?

JF