Dangerous deja vu on Turkey's Kurdish issue

Parliament's Constitution Commission approved a draft bill on May 2 to lift the immunities of more than 130 MPs who are under legal investigation, in order to let the courts try them. The bill was approved with the votes of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Parti), the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) after two tense commission sessions with a lot of fistfights. In the end, commission members from the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) walked out and voting was completed. Parliament's General Assembly is scheduled to start debating the bill on May 16.

Although there are MPs from all parties who have had their files sent to parliament, the main purpose of the move initiated by the AK Parti seems to be to target the HDP, accusing it of propagandizing for the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and assisting its acts of terror in a conflict that has caused more than 40,000 deaths since 1984. 

The move came after President Tayyip Erdo?an gave a speech accusing some HDP deputies of assisting the PKK against the Turkish state under the protection of parliamentary immunity, which they should be stripped of. Prime Minister Ahmet Davuto?lu seconded the proposal on behalf of the AK Parti. The move is enthusiastically supported by the MHP. The CHP has also supported it, with CHP head Kemal K?l?çdaro?lu - whose party program includes the lifting of all parliamentary immunities other than for political speech - saying in a TV interview that he did not want to be accused of tolerating terrorism. Despite this, speaking after the commission's approval on May 3, Davuto?lu lumped the CHP in with the HDP, vowing that "all deputies who get involved in terrorism will be affected by the lifting of...