New draft by-laws of Turkey's parliament bans the terms Kurdistan and Armenian Genocide
A new draft by-laws of Turkey’s Grand National Assembly has been submitted to the office of the speaker of the parliament.
Designed and proposed by the ruling party AKP and its latest ally MHP, the new by-laws include a new regulation on reprimanding lawmakers for using certain phrases and expressions, such as ‘Kurdistan’, ‘Kurdish provinces’, and ‘Armenian Genocide.’
The reprimand to be issued will be based on a regulation deeming it as an ‘insult to the common past and history of the Turkish nation’. ‘Names and/or adjectives used about the administrative structure of the Republic of Turkey and its local governments cannot be against these structures’, the related changes say.
According to report of Bülent Sarıoğlu from Hürriyet, MPs will also get harsher punishments – deductions from salaries - for insulting or swearing at other parliamentarians and/or the speaker. Physical assault will receive ‘heavy punishment’.
Additionally, using placards or banners will be considered as ‘materials distorting the order and peace in the parliament’ and MPs will also get punished for doing so.
The suggested changes in the by-laws of the parliament will be brought to parliament floor on Wednesday (July 12).