Turkish MPs fight in parliament

Brawls erupted in Parliament’s Education Commission today during a debate on the controversial education bill after lawmakers from the Justice and Development Party (AKP) proposed and passed a motion to limit speeches to five minutes.

The commission chairman had ordered a break to defuse the tensions just before 7 p.m. The motion curbing the normally unlimited speaking time was drawn up after a lawmaker of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) spoke for more than two hours, following a record 12-hour speech by a fellow CHP deputy during the previous session.  The CHP has vowed to use all procedural means to protract the proceedings and block the bill.


/Hurriyet Daily News/