Reuters - The United States and Europe have criticized a move by Turkey towards banning the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), a week before EU leaders are due to discuss strained relations with Ankara at a summit.
A Turkish prosecutor filed a case with the constitutional court on Wednesday demanding a ban on the HDP over alleged ties to Kurdish militants, the culmination of a years-long crackdown against the third largest party in parliament.
The move marks the revival of a long history of Turkey banning political parties, including pro-Kurdish ones.
The U.S. State Department said dissolving the HDP “would unduly subvert the will of Turkish voters, further undermine democracy in Turkey, and deny millions of Turkish citizens their chosen representation”.
The prosecutor’s announcement of the case came on the same day that Turkey’s parliament stripped a prominent HDP deputy of his parliamentary status.
“Unapologetically (moving) towards the end of pluralism. What reaction does Turkey expect now from the European Union? A positive agenda?” said Nacho Sanchez Amor, the European Parliament’s rapporteur on Turkey, which is a candidate for EU membership though accession talks have been stalled for years.
