Turkey's pro-Kurdish HDP convenes for the first time after leaders' arrests

Record ID: 79725

  • Title: Turkey's pro-Kurdish HDP convenes for the first time after leaders' arrests
  • Date: 8th November 2016
  • Summary: VARIOUS OF HDP'S ELECTORAL CAMPAIGN VIDEO ON SCREEN SHOWING CO-LEADERS DEMIRTAS AND YUKSEKDAG PERFORMING FOLKLORIC DANCES CAPTION ON SCREEN READING (Turkish): "WE SWEAR WE WILL MEET AGAIN IN A DANCE FOR FREEDOM" CROWD GIVING STANDING AND APPLAUDING
  • Embargoed: 23rd November 2016 13:40
  • Keywords: Turkey Kurds parliament Peoples' Democratic Party HDP arrests
  • Location: ANKARA, TURKEY
  • City: ANKARA, TURKEY
  • Country: Turkey
  • Topics: Government/Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA00257L4953
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Turkey's pro-Kurdish People's Democratic Party (HDP) convened on Tuesday (November 8) for the first time after its co-leaders and several lawmakers were arrested.
    HDP co-leaders Selahattin Demirtas and Figen Yuksekdag were jailed pending trial on Friday (November 4) after refusing to give testimony in a probe linked to "terrorist propaganda".
    Ten other HDP lawmakers were also detained, although some were later released.
    The government accuses the HDP, the second-largest opposition grouping in Turkey's parliament, of financing and supporting an armed Kurdish insurgency, which it denies.
    The HDP announced a partial boycott of parliament on Sunday (November 6), saying it was "halting its legislative efforts" and that its deputies would stop participating in sessions of the legislature or meetings of parliamentary commissions.
    In the first parliamentary group meeting following the arrests, HDP lawmakers showed videos of their electoral campaign and read a written message from their arrested co-leader Selahattin Demirtas, who vowed to continue his political struggle.
    European foreign diplomats also attended the meeting that came shortly after the European Union issued a strong new call on Turkey to resume political dialogue with opposition groups and safeguard its democracy, describing recent developments as "extremely worrying".
    The statement, issued by the EU a day before an annual assessment of Turkey's progress on meeting criteria for EU accession, noted discussion in Ankara of reintroducing the death penalty following July's failed military coup, a crackdown on the media and last weeks lawmakers' arrests.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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