Parliament opens with ceremony of protests

The Turkish parliament opened on Oct. 1 for a short session before elections in one month's time, but the event quickly became the scene of protests against President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an. 

Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) co-chairs Selahattin Demirta? and Figen Yüksekda? were not present at the session, which began with introductory remarks by Parliamentary Speaker ?smet Y?lmaz. As Y?lmaz announced Erdo?an's entrance to the general assembly hall, the HDP deputies in the hall refused to stand up, as required by custom, and when Erdo?an began delivering his speech, all HDP deputies present left the hall in a show of protest. 

Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Kemal K?l?çdaro?lu and Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli were also not present at the gathering. 

K?l?çdaro?lu had already stated that he would be traveling to Lyon in France on Oct. 1 as part of his election campaign and would therefore not be able to attend parliament's opening ceremony. The number of the CHP deputies attending the opening was also limited. 

The leader of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), founded by Erdo?an, Prime Minister Ahmet Davuto?lu, who was in New York to attend the U.N. General Assembly meeting, made it to the opening after departing from the U.S. early on Oct. 1.

In his speech, Erdo?an criticized the HDP prominent co-chair without naming Demirta?. "Some 50 citizens killed in Oct. 6-8 incidents that was sparked by a political party's leader's call which I consider irresponsibility," Erdo?an said in reference to the Kobane insurrection, in which citizens across the country hit the streets to protest Ankara's alleged support for the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). Most of those killed died at...