The bill was discussed in the European Affairs and Foreign Relations Commission of parliament and approved in a nine-to-six vote. The commission comprises 15 members.
According to the bill, the Euskal Herria Bildu party, which holds Turkey accountable for the recent killing of three Kurdish women linked to the terrorist Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in Paris, requests that the Basque Parliament’s EU Council get involved in the solution of the Kurdish national problem.
It also urges Turkey to show respect for all the political and cultural rights of the Kurdish people as well as to make progress in human rights. It also calls on the European Council to get involved in the process of finding a peaceful settlement to the conflict.
The bill also condemns the killing of three PKK women in Paris and expresses its solidarity with the Kurds, adding that it endorses the dialogue process between the representatives of the Kurdish people and the Turkish government and that it hopes it ends in the recognition of the reality of the nation of Kurdistan.
When it was introduced, Turkey reacted harshly to the parliamentary bill. Turkish Ambassador to Spain Ayşe Sinirlioğlu took action against the bill by writing a letter to Basque Parliament Speaker Bakartxo Tejeria. Sinirlioğlu stressed in the letter that the bill, which included serious accusations and misinformation about Turkey, should be corrected.
The letter further noted that it was unacceptable to have a bill that was against the basic principles of the law. Sinirlioğlu reacted harshly to the bill as Turkey was blamed for the Paris killings, which are still under investigation.
The ambassador also condemned the Euskal Herria Bildu bill as it referred to the PKK without describing it as a terrorist organization, this despite the fact that the group is listed by the EU and the US as such.
Citing Turkey’s good relations with the Basque region and Spain, Sinirioğlu warned of potential damage to these relations as a result of Euskal Herria Bildu’s move.