Kurdish MPs Get Worse Treatment than State Terrorists

Turkey has always been a country of contradictions. Ahmet Altan's article summarizes the reality of contradictions nicely. Partial translation of his article dated 16 May 2006 is below:

[...]

Now we are up against a new issue.
Prosecutors want to question five DTP parliamentarians.
They [prosecutors] claim the crime these parliamentarians committed are "crimes against the state" and therefore is not covered under "immunity".

And a chain of strange events start...

One of the parliamentarians they want to take and try was in prison when she was elected. She became a candidate from the prison and because she was elected and "gained immunity" she was let go.

The "immunity" that parliamentarian has gained could get her out of prison but another prosecutor could say that her crimes was not covered under "immunity" and wanted to imprison her again.

The crime one of the parliamentarians had committed for which the parliamentarian wanted to be questioned was to say "Mr. Öcalan".

How is it a crime to call someone "Mr.", that's a mystery in itself, but...

The real funny thing is the fact that the other day a court has decided that the words "Mr. Öcalan" did not constitute a crime.

Courts says "it's not a crime" but prosecutor says "no no", "you don't know it, this is a crime".

Of course, there are also quite "grave" sides of the story.

Mehmet Ağar and Sedat Bucak [two Susurluk criminals who have blood of a lot of innocent Kurds on their hands] are on trial for the crime of "building a terror gang".

"Building a terror gang" is not a crime committed against the state but calling someone "Mr." is a crime against the state.

You obviously see that it is not the "law" that's important here but the "person".

Ağar is immune regardless of whatever he does because he is "the state's" man.

DTP parliamentarians are not immune because they are men of their peoples and the opposition.

Now, are we to call this jurisprudence?

DTP parliamentarians are saying that "we will not go to get questioned", "let the prosecutor come and take us."

Truth be told, everything is possible in Turkey but still I don't think the prosecutors will be crazy enough to raid the Parliament.

I don't know what they [prosecutors] will do but either DTP parliamentarians will sit at the Parliament and start an opposition or they [DTP Parliamentarians] will be taken into custody by the police as they leave the Parliament, like it happened in 1994 [also in 1991].

All these will happen during the time President Gül says "good things will happen".

[...]

As long as you break the laws as one of the thugs in state's heroin trade business then you are alright. If you actually try to do your duty as a parliamentarian and try to actually represent the people who elected you, then you will face all kinds of prosecutions! This is "the strong democracy in the region" for you.