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ANKARA: Turkish opposition leader slams government for weakening

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  • ANKARA: Turkish opposition leader slams government for weakening

    NTV MSNBC, Turkey
    Feb 19 2008


    Turkish opposition leader slams government for weakening country


    Serious problems were developing in the economy, with unemployment on
    the rise and growth slowing, Baykal said.

    Güncelleme: 18:33 TSÝ 19 Þubat 2008 Salý


    - Turkey's government had weakened one of the mail pillars of the
    constitution and was now shaking the foundations on which the country
    was built, the leader of Turkey's main opposition party said Tuesday.



    Having rammed amendments to the constitution allowing for women to
    wear the Islamic headscarf while attending university through the
    parliament the government was now undermining the basis of the
    Lausanne Treaty with its bill on minority foundations, said Deniz
    Baykal, the chairman of Republican People's Party (CHP).

    Addressing a meeting of his party's parliamentary deputies in Ankara,
    Baykal said the government had focused the agenda of the country on
    two issues, the lifting of the headscarf ban and the bill amending
    the foundations' law.

    `This government is recklessly attacking both the constitution and
    the Lausanne Treaty, this is no coincidence!' said Baykal.

    The Lausanne Treaty was signed between the Allied powers of World War
    One and the newly founded Turkish Republic in 1923 and recognised the
    boundaries of the new state and its rights and obligations towards
    the Greek, Jewish and Armenian minorities living in its territory.

    Baykal also queried why it was that the constitutional amendment on
    lifting the headscarf ban at universities had been waiting to be
    signed at the presidential palace for eight days.

    He said it was significant that President Abdullah Gul felt the need
    to give deep thought to this arrangement.
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