Kurdish MPs to boycott Turkey parliament: party source

Thursday, 23 June, 2011 , 11:20

DIYARBAKIR, Turkey, June 23, 2011 (AFP) — Newly-elected Kurdish lawmakers decided Thursday to boycott Turkey's parliament after one of them was stripped of his seat, said an official from the Kurdish party that is backing them.

"A decision was made not to go to Parliament" when it opens in the coming days following the June 12 elections, the official from the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) said on condition of anonymity.

The decision was expected to be formally announced shortly, after the lawmakers and BDP officials wrap up a meeting in Diyarbakir, the largest city of the Kurdish-majority southeast.