ISTANBUL (Armenpress) — Selina Dogan, a Turkish-Armenian member of parliament, said this week that banning lawmaker Garo Paylan from the Parliament’s sessions is a blow to freedom of thought and speech, Agos reports.
Dogan, who is a member of the Republican People’s Party, says it is everyone’s responsibility to prevent hate speech and targeting of Paylan. “There is immunity and freedom of expression at the tribune of Turkey’s Parliament, which is of great importance to both lawmakers and citizens. Even if the issue is painful, it must be discussed in the Parliament of Turkey, not in Parliaments of other countries,” she said.
Dogan stated that every lawmaker in the Turkish parliament is valuable for her. “Despite being from different parties, it is necessary to continue our political activity on main topics in an atmosphere of solidarity,” she said.
Paylan is a member of the pro-Kurdish HDP party.
