Ankara decries European Parliament resolution on opposition parties in Turkey

By Zehra Nur Duz

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey decried a resolution adopted on Thursday by the European Parliament alleging the "repression of the opposition in Turkey, specifically the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP)."

The decision, adopted in the European Parliament General Assembly, is a new example of the ideological and biased attitude of the European Parliament, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement, adding that the resolution was detached from reality.

While refraining from condemning terrorism is an accepted reason to shut down a political party in the EU, a legal process initiated against a political party in Turkey facing serious allegations that its deputies have terror links is met with prejudice, said the statement.

An attempt by those who constantly talk about judicial independence to give ultimatums on judicial processes of other countries amounts not only to transgression but also hypocrisy, it added.

The ministry went on to say that it is not surprising that those who host members of terrorist organizations in the rooms and corridors of their parliament would adopt such a double standard and accept this decision.

This decision will not contribute to the development of Turkey-EU ties, but will rather serve those who want to put relations in deadlock, it added.

The statement asserted that European Parliament had sacrificed the values on which it was built to ideologies and lost its credibility due to such decisions.

On March 17, Turkey's top prosecutor filed an indictment seeking dissolution of the HDP, calling it an undemocratic party that colludes with the terrorist group PKK and seeks to destroy the unity of the state.

The indictment accuses HDP leaders and members of acting in a way that flouts the democratic and universal rules of law, colluding with the terrorist PKK and affiliated groups, and aiming to destroy and eliminate the indivisible integrity of the state, country, and nation.

In its more than 35-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the US and the EU – has been responsible for the deaths of at least 40,000 people, including women, children and infants.