Fierce fighting broke out in Turkish parliament, video of blood-soaked Speaker's stairs goes viral

INDC Network : Turkey : There was a big uproar and scuffle in the Turkish Parliament on Friday, when opposition MP Ahmet Sikh was attacked. The incident took place when the Sikh demanded the release of a fellow MP who is in jail on charges of anti-government protests, but has been elected as a member of Parliament. After this demand, the situation worsened so much that the MPs of the ruling AKP party attacked the Sikh, after which there was bloodshed in the Parliament. Video footage shows that the ruling party MPs quickly moved towards the Sikh and started raining punches on him. Some MPs tried to stop them, but the situation became completely uncontrollable. The white steps of the Speaker's podium were seen stained with blood.

The roots of this incident are related to the Gezi Park protests that took place in 2013. Kan Atalay was sentenced to 18 years in 2022 for leading these protests. He was convicted of conspiring to topple the government. Along with Atalay, other social activists and philanthropist Osman Kavala were also convicted in the same case, although all of them have denied the allegations. Despite this, Atalay was elected a Member of Parliament from the Turkish Workers' Party (TIP) in May last year, but his membership was revoked by the Parliament. On August 1, Turkey's Constitutional Court declared this expulsion illegal, paving the way for Atalay's return to Parliament.

Speaking in the Parliament, Ahmet Sikh told the AKP party MPs, "We are not surprised that you call Kan Atalay a terrorist, just like you call everyone who does not agree with your views. But, the real terrorists are those who are sitting on these seats." After this statement of Sikh, the atmosphere in the Parliament became heated and uproar started. After the uproar, the proceedings of the Parliament were adjourned by the Deputy Speaker. After three hours, the proceedings started again, this time the Speaker himself presided. Parliament reprimanded Ahmet Sık for his statements, while the AKP's Alpay Ozalan was warned against physical assault. Özgur Özal, leader of the main opposition CHP, called the incident shameful. He said, "MPs attacked other MPs, even women. Gulistan Kosygit, head of the Prokurdish DEM party, who was also injured in the brawl, called it unacceptable and alleged that the ruling party was using violence to suppress the voice of the opposition.

After this entire incident, TIP demanded the release of Kan Atalay. Incidents of brawling in the Turkish Parliament are rare, but this is not the first time. In June too, AKP MPs clashed with Prokurdish DEM party MPs. This clash took place after the arrest of a DEM party mayor and the appointment of someone else in his place, who was accused of terrorist links. This incident has once again exposed the tension and polarization prevailing in Turkish politics. Now it remains to be seen in which direction the proceedings of Turkish politics and parliament go after this incident.