Watch: Who cares about laws? Turkey politicians brawl during vital Parliament session

If you thought Indian politicians were disruptive and the Parliament proceedings rife with drama, then you haven’t seen Turkish politicians squabble — brawl, rather — during a vital debate on the migrant issue in Europe. Even Subramanian Swamy’s stinging barbs at the Congress that have supposedly caused an uproar in the Rajya Sabha, seem mild in comparison. Here is the video:

The Turkish ruling party has been trying to push through laws that are crucial to get the European Commission’s approval in allowing Turks visa-free travel across the European Union. However, talks on the important migration deal reached a deadlock after Turkish lawmakers started yelling and throwing punches at each other during the Parliament session. In fact, in the first few minutes of the video, people are heard yelling “Terrorist, terrorist!” The committee meeting began with people arguing and pushing each other in a room that turned out to be too small to hold scores of journalists, lawmakers and employees who wanted to observe the proceedings. [caption id=“attachment_2756222” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Turkish lawmakers argue and push each other on the Assembly floor in Ankara. AP[/caption] The meeting grew tenser in the afternoon with lawmakers throwing punches at opponents and others trying to stop the brawl. The chaos forced committee leaders to postpone the discussions until Monday. Five people were hurt in the fighting, a news agency reported. Three ruling-party and two HDP lawmakers sought medical help after the brawl. A parliamentary committee began initial discussions on the proposed constitutional amendment, which was drafted by the ruling party after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused the pro-Kurdish People’s Democratic Party, HDP, of being an arm of the outlawed Kurdish rebels, and repeatedly called for the prosecution of some party leaders. An HDP lawmaker accused the security forces of “massacres” against Kurds in the southeast, sparking anger in the ruling party. According to Express UK, the laws have to be passed by 4 May so that it goes to a vote in front of EU member states. The move comes amid a surge of violence in Turkey’s southeast after a fragile, more than two-year-old peace process with the rebels collapsed. Hundreds of people, including close to 400 security force members, have died in the renewed fighting, which also displaced tens of thousands of people and left some towns and districts in ruins. The HDP, which backs Kurdish and other minority rights, denies accusations that it is the political arm of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK. It has called on the government to end security forces’ operations in the southeast to resume peace efforts. The PKK is considered a terror organization by Turkey and its Western allies. Although the measure would lift the legal immunities of all lawmakers who have legal cases pending against them, critics say the proposed amendment particularly aims to oust HDP lawmakers from Parliament. The party’s two co-leaders, Selahattin Demirtas and Figen Yuksekdag, face possible prosecution for making statements last year in support of calls for Kurdish self-rule in southeastern Turkey. With inputs from AP