Turkey’s Erdogan seeks to arrest unwanted people with the stroke of a pen – expert
When the leadership of Iraqi Kurdistan voiced their intention about holding an independence referendum in September, interestingly enough the first country to react was Turkey, instead of Iraq, expert on Turkish-Kurdish conflict issues Karen Hovhannisyan said at a news conference on Tuesday, underscoring that the formation of the Kurdish states is a realistic prospect, especially on Iraqi and Syrian territories.
The expert went on adding that attempts are underway to establish an autonomous Kurdish state in Turkey's southeastern province of Hakkari. “They have recently rejected the Turkish monetary unit, Lira, as well as the Turkish banking services. Nevertheless, Turkish authorities succeeded in isolating the organizers of forming Kurdish unions in Hakkari from the outside world,” the expert noted.
Mr. Hovhannisyan highlighted that at the first anniversary of the July 15 failed military coup attempt in Turkey, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan proposed to declare a state of emergency in the country, which was adopted by the Turkish Parliament on Monday.
“The state of emergency is aimed at arresting MPs of the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party with the stroke of a pen,” the speaker added.