Turkey detains pro-Kurdish MPs as crackdown continues

Ankara: Turkish police detained two female pro-Kurdish lawmakers Tuesday as a crackdown intensified after a deadly Istanbul bombing that raised questions about Ankara's strategy in fighting separatist militants.

The detentions came after twin blasts hit Istanbul on Saturday killing 37 police officers and seven civilians, which were claimed by the Kurdistan Freedom Falcons (TAK).

TAK is seen as a radical offshoot of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

The two women, Caglar Demirel and Besime Konca, who represent the southeastern Kurdish-majority cities of Diyarbakir and Siirt respectively, were held as part of a sweeping anti-terror probe, state news agency Anadolu said.

"Head of the party's parliamentary group Caglar Demirel and Siirt MP Besime Konca were unlawfully detained in front of our (Ankara) headquarters," the leftwing pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) said on Twitter.

Konca was taken to court in the southeastern province of Batman, Dogan news agency reported, where she was released under "judicial control", the equivalent of being freed under supervision.

An investigation had been launched into the MP after she allegedly spoke at the funeral of a man killed during security operations against Kurdish rebels in Diyarbakir, the agency said.

Police launched a nationwide operation on Monday, detaining individuals accused of PKK links or of producing propaganda for the group, which is proscribed as a terror organisation by Ankara, the European Union and the United States.

The interior ministry said 235 people were detained. The HDP said late Monday that at least 291 of its members had been taken into custody in less than 24 hours.

There was no let up on Tuesday as the CNN Turk broadcaster reported that eight HDP officials including district party chiefs in the western province of Balikesir were detained as part of the PKK probe.

- 'Continuing pattern since July' -

Last month, 10 of the party's MPs -- including co-leaders Selahattin Demirtas and Figen Yuksekdag -- were arrested, sparking international condemnation. They are currently in pre-trial detention over alleged links to the PKK.

In May this year, the Turkish parliament adopted a bill that lifted immunity for dozens of MPs, which government critics feared would see HDP MPs face criminal prosecution and lose parliamentary seats.

Natalie Martin, an expert on Turkish politics at Nottingham Trent University, said she suspected the crackdown and more arrests would continue.

"I would expect so yes. It is a continuation of a pattern that has been going full-speed since July," she told AFP, referring to the widespread purges after the July 15 failed coup.

Over 100,000 people have been detained, suspended or sacked from the judiciary, media, military and civil service over suspected links to Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen, blamed for the attempted putsch. He denies the charges.

But among those suspended are thousands accused of PKK links and this latest crackdown on the HDP is about "muting the opposition", Martin said.

The government accuses the HDP of having links to the PKK, a charge that the party denies.

Co-president of HDP in Diyarbakir Cabbar Leygara said Kurdish people wanted to be a part of peaceful parliamentary politics.

"We want democracy to win in Turkey."

The PKK has waged an insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984 during which more than 40,000 people have been killed.

Violence surged last year after the collapse of a two-and-a-half-year ceasefire, sparking almost daily clashes between the PKK and Turkish security forces, mainly in the southeast.

The Turkish air force hit PKK targets again in the Zap region of northern Iraq on Monday where the group has bases, state news agency Anadolu reported.