JINHA

ANKARA - As representatives were sworn in to the Turkish Parliament, HDP representative Leyla Zana’s oath—which she dedicated to peace in Kurdish--was deemed invalid because it “departed from the text.”

After the election on November 1 in Turkey, the HDP now has 59 parliamentary representatives. Leyla Zana was elected as representative of Ağrı (a city of the Eastern Anatolia in Turkey).

The deputy for Ağrı, Leyla Zana, started to swear her oath by saying in Kurdish “with the hope of a honour and lasting peace.” Leyla swore “in front of the great nation of Turkey on my honor” instead of “in front of the Great Turkish Nation on my honor,” emphasizing the entire country instead of one ethnic identity. Interim speaker of the Parliament Deniz Baykal called her back to repeat the oath, but she didn’t go back and didn’t repeat the oath.

Leyla Zana’s oath was deemed invalid because it departed from the text.

(gc/gd)