Denmark concerned about developments in Turkey

12 MPs from the Peoples’ Democratic Party arrested last week

The Turkish ambassador to Denmark, Mehmet Donmez, has been summoned to the Foreign Ministry in the wake of the arrests of 12 MPs from the Turkish-Kurdish opposition party Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) late last week.

The foreign minister, Kristian Jensen, who met one of the heads of HDP recently in Ankara, has expressed deep concern about the comprehensive police action that took place on Thursday night.

“I have previously encouraged – and do so once again – Turkey to respect the standard rule of law principles, even on the heels of the failed coup attempt,” said Jensen.

READ MORE: Turkey coup attempt sparks tension among Turks in Denmark

Human rights waning
In the months following the failed coup attempt on July 15, the Recep Tayyip-led Turkish government has cracked down hard on the freedoms of speech and press, and on Thursday night the two HDP co-heads Selehattin Demirtas and Figen Yüksekdag were detained along with ten other HDP parliamentarians.

The Turkish police also broke into the HDP headquarters in Ankara, and they have also shut down access to a number of social media platforms recently, including Twitter, Facebook, Youtube and Whatsapp.

“Turkey’s ambassador in Denmark has now been summoned for a discussion at the Foreign Ministry, where we will clearly convey our concern and ask for further explanation,” said Jensen.

“It’s a very serious diplomatic step and I hope the Turkish government will note that.”

The Turkish PM, Binali Yildirim, said the arrests were in response to HDP funding terrorism.

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