Originally posted by the Voice of America.
Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America,
a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in
the public domain.


Turkey's Opposition HDP Faces Ban

Dorian Jones

   ISTANBUL - The future of Turkey's second-largest opposition party is
   hanging in the balance, with mass arrests and growing calls for its
   closure. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accuses the pro-Kurdish
   HDP of militant links, but the party says it's a victim of increasing
   government authoritarianism.

   The HDP claims it's facing an unprecedented legal crackdown with 16,000
   members detained and dozens of deputies ousted from parliament and
   jailed under Turkey's anti-terror legislation.

   Erdogan routinely refers to the HDP as the "pro-PKK party." The PKK is
   a Kurdish insurgent group waging a decades-long war for minority rights
   in Turkey and is designated as a terrorist group by the United States
   and European Union.

   The progressive left pro-Kurdish HDP, which denies PKK links, secured
   six million votes in the 2018 election and 67 parliamentary deputies,
   making it Turkey's second-largest party.

.