Brawl in Parliament

One of the most well-known pashas of the Abdul Hamid II era was Yedi Sekiz Hasan Pasha. Hasan Pasha, who was illiterate, earned this nickname because he would sign his name by drawing a line between the numbers seven and eight, which looked similar to him.

Yedi Sekiz Hasan Pasha, who served as the Beşiktaş police station commander during the reigns of Sultan Abdulaziz and Abdul Hamid II, killed Ali Suavi—who had led the Çırağan Raid to overthrow Abdul Hamid II—by striking him on the head with a club.

After this incident, Hasan Pasha gained the favor of the palace, rose steadily through the ranks of the pashadom during the reign of Abdul Hamid II, and eventually reached the rank of field marshal in the Ottoman army. During the period of despotism that began with Abdul Hamid II's dissolution of the Chamber of Deputies, he sent intelligence reports to the palace through his loyal informants. For this reason, he was given the title of 'Imperial Informant'.

He gained his primary reputation for tracking down those who opposed the Sultan and subjecting them to the bastinado. The spirit of Yedi Sekiz Hasan Pasha has persisted to the present day, and 'beating the opposition' has begun to be seen as a routine act both inside and outside the Grand National Assembly of Turkey.

Before May 27, CHP deputies, and after May 27, TİP deputies who entered parliament were frequently subjected to attacks. The manhandling of TİP deputy Çetin Altan still remains in memory. Coming to the present day, unfortunately, we are once again witnessing attacks under the roof of the TBMM by those who emulate Yedi Sekiz Hasan Pasha against opposition deputies, primarily those from the DEM and TİP parties. Most recently, TİP deputy Ahmet Şık, who was speaking at the podium during a session of the TBMM convened to discuss the continued imprisonment of Can Atalay—who was elected as a Hatay deputy from the Workers' Party of Turkey—despite a Constitutional Court ruling, was attacked. Subsequently, as other deputies joined the fray, three deputies, including one woman, were injured.

The ironic part is that the deputy who initiated the attack and caused the brawl was given the same disciplinary penalty as the deputy who was attacked. Receiving praise for the deputy who carried out the attack will not contribute to democracy or peace in society.

The injustice done to TİP deputy Can Atalay was subsequently crowned by the attack on another TİP deputy, Ahmet Şık, while he was speaking in parliament, once again demonstrating how hollow the rhetoric of 'softening' and 'normalization' is to society.