This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-35192854
The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Turkey's Erdogan: Demirtas Kurdish autonomy plea is 'treason' | |
| (34 minutes later) | |
| Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has condemned as "treason" a call by prominent Kurdish politician Selahattin Demirtas for Kurdish autonomy. | Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has condemned as "treason" a call by prominent Kurdish politician Selahattin Demirtas for Kurdish autonomy. |
| "What the co-leader has done is treason, provocation," Mr Erdogan said, referring to Mr Demirtas, co-leader of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP). | "What the co-leader has done is treason, provocation," Mr Erdogan said, referring to Mr Demirtas, co-leader of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP). |
| At the weekend the HDP and other pro-Kurdish groups called for self-rule in Turkey's mainly Kurdish south-east. | At the weekend the HDP and other pro-Kurdish groups called for self-rule in Turkey's mainly Kurdish south-east. |
| Turkish prosecutors have launched an investigation into those comments. | Turkish prosecutors have launched an investigation into those comments. |
| The Turkish military has stepped up operations against the rebel Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which is fighting for Kurdish self-rule. The army says it has killed more than 200 PKK militants in the latest fighting. | |
| The PKK is regarded as a "terrorist" organisation by Turkey, the US and EU. | |
| 'Challenging the constitution' | |
| The HDP won 59 seats in Turkey's 550-seat parliament in the 1 November elections. It came third, behind Mr Erdogan's Justice and Development Party (AKP) and the Republican People's Party (CHP). | |
| Speaking on Tuesday, Mr Erdogan said Mr Demirtas and other Kurdish leaders would be "taught a lesson" by the people and the law. | |
| He accused Mr Demirtas of challenging Article 14 of the constitution, which bans activities deemed to "violate the indivisible integrity of the state". | |
| On Sunday Mr Demirtas backed a declaration by a Kurdish umbrella group - the Democratic Society Congress (DTK) - which called for "autonomous regions" and "self-governance bodies". | |
| The declaration, issued in the mainly Kurdish city of Diyarbakir, said the "rightful resistance" of Kurds against Turkish state policies "is essentially a demand and struggle for local self-governance and local democracy". | |
| It called for the "formation of autonomous regions, to involve several neighbouring provinces in consideration of cultural, economic and geographic affinities". | |
| The PKK has been battling the Turkish military for three decades, in a separatist conflict that has killed more than 40,000 people. |