Naci Bostancı

Ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) officials have applauded main opposition Republican People's Party's (CHP) decision not to appeal to the Constitutional Court despite their fierce criticism over the constitutional amendment that is set to be voted on in a referendum in April.

There is "no doubt" concerning the identity organization that carried out a deadly attack on an İzmir courthouse on Jan. 5, Turkish Justice Minister Bekir Bozdağ has said, noting that all the obtained information indicated that both the masterminds and the perpetrators of the attack were militants of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

Parliament Speaker İsmail Kahraman brought together the group deputy chairpersons of all parties at Turkey's parliament on Dec. 13, after fists flew once again at the General Assembly on Dec. 12. 

Along with the heightened tension at parliament meetings, jailed deputies were also on the agenda of the meeting, state-run Anadolu Agency reported. 

A recent column by ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) Ankara lawmaker Aydın Ünal in which he included the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) on a list of terrorist organizations has provoked criticism in his own party while causing outrage among CHP members. 

The perpetrators of a Dec. 10 bomb attack in Istanbul will sooner or later "be made to pay," Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu said on Dec. 12, vowing to take measures against terrorists, while his earlier comments sparked discussions in parliament.  

A deputy from the opposition Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) has alleged that a camera was planted and then removed from the office of an MHP lawmaker. 

MHP group deputy chairman Erkan Akçay said a camera was planted in the office of the MHP lawmaker from the northwestern province of Kocaeli, Saffet Sancaklı, demanding an investigation into the incident.