It’s not completely unprecedented that heated discussions in parliament end in fisticuffs, but this brawl was impressive. It has happened a few times before in Russia and in the Ukraine.
Yesterday during a session of the Turkish parliament fighting words got accelerated into actual fighting as an all-out brawl erupted:
Members of the Turkish parliament have traded blows over plans to strip parliamentarians of their legal immunity.
Footage of the brawl, filmed by a deputy of the Republican People’s Party (CHP), shows MPs throwing punches and bottles at each other.
Some parliamentarians jumped off tables to launch themselves into the melee.
The meeting of the constitutional commission of the Turkish National Assembly descended into chaos amid debate over potential changes to legal immunity rules for MPs.
Turkish legislators are currently immune from prosecution while in office, although police can file ‘dossiers’ against an MP which could lead to prosecution once the person leaves parliament.
source: sky.com
About Turkish Parliament
The Grand National Assembly of Turkey (Turkish: Türkiye Büyük Millet Meclisi), usually referred to simply as the TBMM or Parliament (Turkish: Meclis), is the unicameral Turkish legislature. It is the sole body given the legislative prerogatives by the Turkish Constitution. It was founded in Ankara on 23 April 1920 in the midst of the Turkish War of Independence. The parliament was fundamental in the efforts of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and his colleagues to found a new state out of the remnants of the Ottoman Empire in the aftermath of World War I.
Turkey has had a history of parliamentary government before the establishment of the current national parliament. These include attempts at curbing absolute monarchy during the Ottoman Empire through constitutional monarchy, as well as establishments of caretaker national assemblies immediately prior to the declaration of the Republic of Turkey in 1923 but after the de facto dissolution of the Ottoman Empire earlier in the decade.
source: wikipedia.com
