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Turkish government seeks constitutional reform
30 March 2010 ANKARA, Turkey Turkey's government on Tuesday asked Parliament to approve a series of amendments to the constitution, which could pave the way for a trial of top military commanders by a civilian court and make disbanding political parties more difficult.I don't think defanging the Turkish military is going to be this easy ... The governing Justice and Development Party submitted a draft law including 29 amendments to the Parliament to reform the constitution, a legacy of a 1980 military coup, arguing that the changes would make it more democratic and strengthen the country's bid to join the EU. The proposal includes measures that increase standards of democracy, the law and protect individual rights while expanding the right of collective bargaining,' Bekir Bozdag, a senior member of the governing party, said after submitting the draft law. However, opposition parties have criticized the Islamic-rooted government for trying to increase its political clout over the secular judiciary and to save its party, which narrowly escaped a ban by the Constitutional Court for allegedly undermining secularism in 2008. A parliamentary vote could come as early as next week, but there is a strong possibility of a referendum on the amendments this summer since there is no consensus to comfortably pass them. The government, which has strong electoral backing, says the amendments will be voted as a whole in case of a referendum. Devlet Bahceli, head of the opposition Nationalist Action Party, said it would not support the amendments. The constitution package is not designed according to needs of Turkey but special needs of the' governing party, Bahceli told his lawmakers on Tuesday. The government has dragged Turkey into a new conflict with this fait-accompli attempt.' Posted by: Steve White 2010-03-31 |
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