The Turkish Government Wants To Prosecute Lawmakers And There Was A Huge Brawl Over It
Members of the ruling party and the pro-Kurdish opposition have made a habit of throwing punches lately.
A debate in Turkey's parliament over stripping lawmakers of their immunity from prosecution devolved into a massive fight on Monday, with fists flying and people nearly trampled in the scrum.
Welcome to Turkey! Erdogan's rabid AKP thugs attacking HDP MPs in parliament again!! #US #EU #UN #Turkei
It got so heated at one point that a person literally jumped over a table to dive into the fray.
Video - Dokunulmazlık görüşmelerindeki kavganın görüntüleri https://t.co/sN4cgLa41N
Here's the backstory: Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has proposed a plan to allow pro-Kurdish lawmakers with the Peoples' Democracy Party (HDP) to be prosecuted over alleged ties to militant groups.

Monday's fight was just the latest round of fisticuffs between the HDP and AKP. A session of parliament last Wednesday also ended in punches thrown over military operations against Turkey's Kurds.

The parliament's constitutional committee — where the brawl broke out — eventually passed the government-backed proposal, sending it to the full body for a vote.

"No one should hope to push the government into backing out [of its plans] with this kind of behaviour," government spokesman Numan Kurtulmus warned, AFP reported, adding "whatever happens, the demand to lift the immunity [of lawmakers]... will be presented to Parliament."
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