Eurotopics.net

Turkey's chief prosecutor last week filed a lawsuit with the Constitutional Court aimed at banning the pro-Kurdish opposition party HDP. It is also seeking a five-year ban from politics for almost 700 HDP members, including its leaders Mithat Sancar and Pervin Buldan. Sancar accused the government of wanting to ban his party because it could not defeat it politically. Commentators agree.

To mark the 200th anniversary of the start of the Greek War of Independence against Ottoman rule on 25 March 1821, a military parade is to take place in the centre of Athens, with representatives of the then partner countries Russia, France and the UK in attendance. The general public is banned from attending due to the pandemic. Some commentators see the celebrations as excessive while others say more should be done to mark the date.

In reaction to the oppression of the Uyghur minority, the EU has imposed sanctions on China for the first time in three decades. The foreign ministers of the 27 member states approved punitive measures against four party representatives in the Xinjiang region and an organisation that, according to the EU, manages the detention camps for the "re-education" of the Muslim minority. Beijing responded with retaliatory measures.