Brawl death: Pressure on Turkish PM

ANKARA, Turkey -- Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit is facing calls for his resignation over the death of an opposition politician following a brawl.

The opposition True Path Party (DYP) demanded on Wednesday that Ecevit step down over the death of Fevzi Sihanlioglu, 55.

He was trying to break up a brawl in the parliament building on Tuesday when he was hit. As the fight continued, Sihanlioglu walked outside and suffered a heart attack.

He was taken to hospital but doctors failed to revive him.

The fight involved a deputy of the rightist Nationalist Action Party (MHP), a partner in Ecevit's three-party government coalition.

DYP leader Tansu Ciller said on Wednesday: "The most honourable move in the face of this (incident) is to resign. That's why we call upon the prime minister and the deputy parliament speaker to resign.

"It is understood that he (Sihanlioglu) bore five or six blows to the head. It is not clear whether they were the cause of the death, but what is critical and regrettable here is that this incident took place under the parliamentary roof."

Ecevit indicated he had no intention of resigning.

Fighting broke out in parliament during debate of government proposals to speed the passage of legislation, especially vital economic reforms, often held up by painstaking votes on individual details.

The DYP insisted that the proposals would stifle debate and silence opposition.

Ecevit criticised the violence on Wednesday and said his government was determined to continue its work "in peace, as coalition partners" -- the nearest he came in a statement to implicit criticism of MHP involvement in the incident.

A CNN Turk television co-ordinator, Gokokhan Guvenc, has been told by another Truth Path Party member, Yahya Celik, that an unnamed deputy of the Democratic Social Party tried to stab Sihanlioglu with a knife.

Guvenc said: "He told us an attempt was made to use a knife on Sihanlioglu but that it was unsuccessful."

CNN Turk television said some lawmakers threw glass cups at one another. At least one lawmaker was injured by the glass.

Anatolia News Agency said Health Minister Osman Durmus and other legislators with medical knowledge were the first to treat Sihanlioglu, giving him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

Dr Sule Korkmaz, who tried to revive Sihanlioglu, said the deputy had a history of heart trouble.

Reuters contributed to this report.

Turk politician dies after brawl
January 31, 2001

Turkish government

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