Turkish Parliament To Hold Special Session On Kurdish
Unrest
ANKARA, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Turkey's parliament will hold an
extraordinary session next Monday to debate terrorism, the assembly's speaker
Bulent Arinc said on Thursday.
The decision followed a request by the main opposition
Republican People's Party (CHP), which has expressed concern about an upsurge in
attacks by Kurdish rebels on security forces and over counter-demonstrations by
Turkish nationalists.
"Parliament has been called to meet on Monday at 1500 (1300
GMT) to discuss the proposal by the CHP," Arinc said in a written statement.
Parliament formally reconvenes on Oct. 1 after its summer
recess, two days before Turkey begins historic entry talks with the European
Union.
Opposition leader Deniz Baykal said this week there was an
"increasingly intense atmosphere of violence" in the country.
In several towns and cities in recent weeks, Turkish
nationalists have clashed with supporters of the banned Kurdistan Workers Party
(PKK) demanding the release of Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan.
Some Turkish media have linked the upsurge in violence to the
imminent start of EU entry talks, saying radicals on both sides are trying to
embarrass the government at a sensitive time.
