Turkish-Armenian lawmaker under probe for “insulting Turkishness”May 17, 2018 - 17:54 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Turkish-Armenian lawmaker from the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) Garo Paylan is under investigation for “insulting the Turkish President, the Turkish people or Turkishness,” Agos newspaper says. The Justice Ministry of Turkey granted permission for the Ankara Prosecutor’s office to conduct an investigation over an interview Paylan gave while visiting Canada. In case the charges are confirmed, the member of the Grand National Assembly may be stripped of parliamentary immunity. In the interview he gave on May 1, 2017, Paylan spoke about the Armenian Genocide, the murder of Turkish-Armenian editor Hrant Dink, the failed coup and the president Recep tayyip Erdogan’s policy. The Ankara Chief Prosecutor’s office had prepared a summary of proceedings against seven other HDP deputies on the grounds of “insulting the Turkish nation, the Turkish state, its army and police forces,” “acting against the law on political parties,” “making terror propaganda,” and “insulting the president.” Paylan has been vocal about the plight of Armenians in Turkey and the overall human rights situation in the country. When in Canada in May 2017, the lawmaker held a series of meetings in Ottawa and Montreal with Members of Parliament and various current and former Canadian officials He provided an overview of the current political climate in Turkey, the aftermath of the constitutional referendum and the ongoing uncertainty and concern regarding the rights and freedoms of the minorities living in Turkey. He stressed the importance of acknowledging history, specifically in regards to the Armenian Genocide, stating, “unpunished crimes lead to new crimes.” Related links: Top stories Six total incidents have burned 19 old-growth trees. Friday night 8 trees were torched along the beautiful main entrance. The EU does not intend to conduct military exercises with Armenia, Lead Spokesperson for EU Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Peter Stano says. Hikmet Hajiyev has said that there is no place for USAID operation in Azerbaijan any longer. A telephone conversation between Putin and Pashinyan before the CSTO summit is not planned, Peskov says. Partner news | Ucom equips four bus stops in Ijevan with free Wi-Fi Ucom now provides free Wi-Fi coverage in smart bus stops in four communities of Ijevan. Armenia, Russia discuss life extension of Metsamor nuclear plant Issues regarding the extension of life of the 2nd power unit of the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant were discussed in Yerevan. Armenians stage more campaigns against territorial concessions to Azerbaijan Protesters blocked more roads across Armenia on Friday, April 26 in continuing attempts to scuttle territorial concessions to Azerbaijan. Czech-Armenian military cooperation discussed in Yerevan A delegation led by the Director General for the Industrial Cooperation Division of the Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic visited Armenia. |