Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Turkish Law Change Not Ruled Out

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Turkish Law Change Not Ruled Out

    TURKISH LAW CHANGE NOT RULED OUT

    Alalam News Network
    April 10 2008
    Iran

    ANKARA, April 10--Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said on
    Thursday he would not rule out amending the constitution if a top court
    moves to close his ruling AK Party on charges of Islamic activities.

    European Union applicant Turkey has been dealing with a political raw
    since a chief prosecutor asked the Constitutional Court last month
    to shut down the party.

    Erdogan told a joint news conference with European Commission President
    Jose Manuel Barroso: "If it is necessary such a step will be taken
    but if it is not necessary the legal process will be followed just
    as it is."

    Giving a cautious response, Barroso said, "What I can tell you frankly
    is that I hope the decision of the Constitutional Court will be a
    decision compatible with the rule of law, European standards, with
    jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights."

    AKP supporters see the court case as a fresh attack by hardline
    secularists, whose prominent members include some judges, the military
    and some academics, after the party's re-election for a second term
    in July with almost 47 percent of the vote.

    Barroso urged Turkey speed up democracy reforms, saying that "there
    is a long way to go" before it catches up with EU membership criteria.

    He urged Ankara to focus on improving freedom of speech, the rights
    of women, trade unions and religious and ethnic minorities.

    Barroso said he was confident that two new policy areas would be
    opened for negotiations with Turkey by July, bringing the total to
    eight out of 35 chapters that candidates are required to complete.

    Erdogan reassured that Ankara was "putting all its efforts and
    determination" behind the country's accession bid.

    "Our common objective is membership and we cannot accept any other
    alternative," he said, referring to opposition by EU countries such
    as France and Germany, who advocate special partnership rather than
    full accession for the mainly Muslim nation.

    Keen to mend its pro-EU credibility, the government submitted to
    parliament this week a proposal to amend a law the EU has denounced
    as a threat to freedom of speech in Turkey.

    Barroso welcomed the draft as "a step in the right direction."

    The proposal aims to soften Article 301 of the penal code, which
    calls for up to three years in jail for "insulting Turkishness"
    and has been used mainly against critics of Turkey's official line
    on Armenian massacres under the Ottoman Empire.
Working...
X