Turkish committee clears contentious bill following brawl

A Turkish parliamentary committee has approved a contentious ruling-party proposal to strip legislators of their immunity from prosecution, hours after the meeting erupted in chaos with legislators hurling bottles of water and punches at each other.

The proposed constitutional amendment, cleared by the committee late on Monday, could pave the way for the trial of several pro-Kurdish legislators on terror-related charges.

The proposal was prepared after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused the party of being an arm of the outlawed Kurdish rebels and repeatedly called for their prosecution.

The pro-Kurdish party lawmakers walked out of the committee meeting after the brawl, which left one legislator with a dislocated shoulder.

The draft was later approved by the remaining legislators. It must now be approved by the full assembly.

Television footage showed lawmakers from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democracy Party (HDP) fighting in the crammed committee room after the heated verbal confrontation on Monday.

Several MPs were seen jumping onto tables and then dive-bombing the crowd of opposing lawmakers on the other side.

Others vaulted onto tables to get a better crack at kicking their opponents from above while some MPs sought to calm the tensions.

Water bottles and other objects were hurled across the room in some of the worst fighting ever seen in the Turkish parliament, in a new sign of the severe political tensions in the country.

Government spokesman Numan Kurtulmus deplored the scenes of fighting in the national legislature.

"No one should hope to push the government into backing out (of its plans) with this kind of behaviour," he warned, adding that "whatever happens, the demand to lift the immunity (of lawmakers)... will be presented to Parliament."