Turkey parliament brawls over changes to constitution

Risingbd Desk: Members of Turkey`s governing AK party and pro-Kurdish politicians have traded blows in parliament over plans to strip MPs of their immunity from prosecution.

The brawl erupted as a committee met to discuss the government-backed changes to the constitution.

Some parliamentarians launched themselves into the melee from a table, others threw water or aimed punches.

The opposition Peoples` Democratic Party (HDP) say the move is aimed at stifling dissent.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called for members of the pro-Kurdish HDP to face prosecution, accusing them of being an extension of the banned Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).

Several parliamentarians were injured in the fighting.

A session last week on the constitutional changes also broke up in violence.

Source: BBC

Risingbd/May 3, 2016/Mukul