the Turkish government and Kurdish insurgents collapsed, and a period of operations and curfews in Kurdish-majority areas began. The rhetoric of peace and reconciliation left its place to the rhetoric of war and counter-terrorism. Governmental authorities adopted increasingly inflammatory rhetoric towards all supporters of peace, from academics to news organs and civil society. Supporting peace was declared to be synonymous with supporting terrorism. Parliamentary immunity in Turkey was an important mechanism to ensure free speech in the Parliament and beyond for all representatives. In April 2016, the inviolability of MPs were lifted in the Parliament, despite of strong cautionary opinions by international actors (see attached: Venice Commission Opinion on Parliamentary Inviolability). Given the strong opposition of HDP to this move, and the targeted rhetoric of the AKP government, the arrests are assessed to be politically motivated by critics. The crackdown on the pro-Kurdish political establishment also impacted the elected local representatives in the Kurdish majority areas in Turkey. The elected co-mayors of Amed (Diyarbakır), a city of 1.670.000 people, were arrested a week before Demirtaş and Yüksekdağ. Following the imprisonment of the co-mayors, a district governor from Ankara was appointed to run the Diyarbakir Metropolitan Municipality Freedom of Peaceful Assembly While elected representatives and local authorities are placed under arrest and are dismissed from their duties, avenues for dissent in civil spaces are also being seriously hindered. People’s right to protest is suppressed, along with democratic principles of plurality of thought. Any attempt to peacefully assemble on any issue has been triggering severe response, legitimized by the state of emergency regime in effect. The Turkish government, which is already reprimanded by the European Court of Human Rights for its systemic violations of the right to peaceful assembly and association, has doubled down on protests of all forms, from sitting strikes to union marches. Another troubling aspect of these developments is that the suppression of representation rights overwhelmingly affect minority groups, mainly Kurdish citizens, a historically underrepresented and disenfranchised ethnic group in Turkey. However, the targeting does not only affect Kurdish groups. Other fundamental democratic rights, such as the freedom of media, freedom of association and of expression are also attacked, whether through newspaper editors being arrested, operations of associations being halted without any legal action, or charging citizens for anti-government criticism with antiquated insult laws. The state of emergency provides a legal and procedural shield to these undemocratic measures. As opposing ideas and voices are being drowned, political claustrophobia creates a fractured and tense public environment. With the arrest of mayors and MPs and the violent crackdown on protesters, Turkey is experiencing a drastic shift away from rule of law, representative democracy, and civil rights. The targeting of an ethnic minority and the inflammatory rhetoric adopted by senior politicians towards opposition factions of the society are adding an extra urgency to the situation. As this is also a time when important issues, such as the discussions of a new constitution, the possibility of restoring capital punishment, and a possible regime change are undergoing, the absence of elected politicians and leaders in legitimate political platforms is most dangerous for the future of Turkey. 5