Erdoğan says vote on lifting immunity expresses nation's will

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Saturday that the result of a parliamentary vote on lifting legislative immunities on lawmakers expressed the will of the Turkish nation.

“What did our nation want? They said, we do not want to see traitors in this country's parliament. And the parliament did what the nation wanted," Erdoğan said in a speech to the public in Artvin province.

His remarks came a day after the Turkish parliament approved stripping its members of immunity from prosecution. The new bill allows the Turkish judiciary to try lawmakers for their unlawful actions especially direct or indirect support to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

Turkish security forces have been conducting operations against the PKK in southeastern part of the country and northern Iraq since last summer.

“They were carrying weapons in vehicles, in coffins, but now they started to escape, why are you escaping?" he said.

He said that the new government will continue to fight all terror groups including PKK, Gülenist terrorist organization and Daesh.