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Today's Zaman, Turkey
March 9 2012
Abant tackles contentious issue of drafting new constitution
9 March 2012 / TODAY'S ZAMAN, Ä°STANBUL
As this year's Abant Platform tackles the pressing issue of shaping
Turkey's new constitution, a wide spectrum of intellectuals, lawyers,
political leaders and journalists are discussing the problematic areas
of, and proposing solutions to, the constitutional drafting process.
`Deliberations should continue with the spirit of respecting each
other's thoughts on a given topic. What I say might be right but what
another person says might be right, too,' said Parliament Speaker
Cemil �içek, who heads the parliamentary Constitutional Reconciliation
Commission, at the opening of the 26th Abant meeting, held from March
9 to 11 in the northwestern province of Bolu. `Somebody says forget it
if the constitution does not include a specific sentence. This is an
aggressive attitude, not one of compromise. Everybody should think
about what happens next in Turkey if no way of compromise is found. It
would not be a process of positive development for the country,' he
added. �içek said they are not giving directions at the commission
about the way the constitution will be but collect thoughts and ideas.
`It is not the commission but the people who should write the
constitution. We are making it happen, not writing it,' he said,
stressing the need for the four parties in Parliament to commit
themselves to making it happen.
After the commission collects the views of individuals and
institutions, a draft text will be prepared as of May 1 after which
the opinion of Parliament and the public will be taken again. As a
final step, the necessary changes will be made to the draft text and
presented to Parliament for approval and then to a public referendum.
Levent Köker, a constitutional professor who is the current chairman
of the Abant Platform, said the Parliament that was established after
last year's June 12 elections represent more than 90 percent of the
society.
`They cannot remain deaf to society's call for a new constitution,' he
said in reference to the support from the society to get rid of the
shackles put in place by the country's 1982 Constitution, which was
passed following the Sept. 12, 1980 military coup, restricting
freedoms. `The debate is going to liven up since the contents of the
constitution will be actively debated soon,' he added.
Mustafa YeÅ?il, who heads the Journalists and Writers Foundation (GYV),
which has organized the Abant Platform since 1998, said Turkey needs a
new constitution. `As we enter spring and leaving behind winter, we
hope that cold days will be taken over by warm days,' he said at the
meeting on Friday.
Also at the meeting was ErdoÄ?an Toprak, the opposition Republican
People's Party (CHP) deputy chairman. `Here we have the opportunity to
make a new constitution if we want a more democratic regime,' he said.
`However, we should look at issues not only from our side but from
others' point of view as well in the process.'
The concept of citizenship and how to describe the issue of
citizenship in the new constitution were discussed at the Abant
Platform's first panel discussion on Friday. In that regard,
Galatasaray University lecturer Birol Caymaz said the description of
citizenship should be inclusive.
On the same line, Rober KoptaÅ?, the editor-in-chief of the
Turkish-Armenian Agos weekly, said he wants to forget that he is an
Armenian.
`Conditions in Turkey constantly remind me that I am an Armenian. This
is a painful fact that I cannot escape from. I'd like to feel that I
belong to this land, and I want to get lost in the crowds. The new
constitution should promise that future to us,' he said, adding that
Turkey's Armenians do not want to be treated any differently than
others but just want to be treated as equal citizens.
`Armenians here believe they are second-class citizens. Minority
rights should be guaranteed not with international agreements but with
a consensus in society above those international agreements,' he also
said.
Speaking on the same topic, Gazi University lecturer Vedat Bilgin said
a definition of `democratic citizenship' could be the key for solving
problems in relation to citizenship. `The new constitution should
protect micro identities and at the same time allow a macro
transformation,' he said.
Orhan MiroÄ?lu, a Kurdish writer, said on the same issue, `We should
seek answers to how to keep many identities together. Not meeting
demands is threatening for people. If we don't solve this problem with
a new constitution, it's possible that different identities will seek
ways to part ways.'
Participants of the Abant Platform will examine the constitutional
process under the headings of `mother tongue education,' `local
governments in the balance of a unitary state and autonomy,' `freedom
of religion,' `religious education,' and `the position of the
president in the Constitution.'
Former Supreme Court of Appeals President Sami Selçuk and academics
from various universities and journalists from Turkey's many dailies
will lead the discussions.
As with every Abant meeting, the platform will release a summary
declaration arising from the discussions' conclusions. The Abant
Platform is an independent think tank that takes its name from Lake
Abant in the province of Bolu, the location of its first meeting. It
is one of the most well-known programs of the GYV, which was
established in 1994. Its mission and work were inspired by the GYV's
honorary president, Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen.
http://www.todayszaman.com/news-273842-abant-tackles-contentious-issue-of-drafting-new-constitution.html
March 9 2012
Abant tackles contentious issue of drafting new constitution
9 March 2012 / TODAY'S ZAMAN, Ä°STANBUL
As this year's Abant Platform tackles the pressing issue of shaping
Turkey's new constitution, a wide spectrum of intellectuals, lawyers,
political leaders and journalists are discussing the problematic areas
of, and proposing solutions to, the constitutional drafting process.
`Deliberations should continue with the spirit of respecting each
other's thoughts on a given topic. What I say might be right but what
another person says might be right, too,' said Parliament Speaker
Cemil �içek, who heads the parliamentary Constitutional Reconciliation
Commission, at the opening of the 26th Abant meeting, held from March
9 to 11 in the northwestern province of Bolu. `Somebody says forget it
if the constitution does not include a specific sentence. This is an
aggressive attitude, not one of compromise. Everybody should think
about what happens next in Turkey if no way of compromise is found. It
would not be a process of positive development for the country,' he
added. �içek said they are not giving directions at the commission
about the way the constitution will be but collect thoughts and ideas.
`It is not the commission but the people who should write the
constitution. We are making it happen, not writing it,' he said,
stressing the need for the four parties in Parliament to commit
themselves to making it happen.
After the commission collects the views of individuals and
institutions, a draft text will be prepared as of May 1 after which
the opinion of Parliament and the public will be taken again. As a
final step, the necessary changes will be made to the draft text and
presented to Parliament for approval and then to a public referendum.
Levent Köker, a constitutional professor who is the current chairman
of the Abant Platform, said the Parliament that was established after
last year's June 12 elections represent more than 90 percent of the
society.
`They cannot remain deaf to society's call for a new constitution,' he
said in reference to the support from the society to get rid of the
shackles put in place by the country's 1982 Constitution, which was
passed following the Sept. 12, 1980 military coup, restricting
freedoms. `The debate is going to liven up since the contents of the
constitution will be actively debated soon,' he added.
Mustafa YeÅ?il, who heads the Journalists and Writers Foundation (GYV),
which has organized the Abant Platform since 1998, said Turkey needs a
new constitution. `As we enter spring and leaving behind winter, we
hope that cold days will be taken over by warm days,' he said at the
meeting on Friday.
Also at the meeting was ErdoÄ?an Toprak, the opposition Republican
People's Party (CHP) deputy chairman. `Here we have the opportunity to
make a new constitution if we want a more democratic regime,' he said.
`However, we should look at issues not only from our side but from
others' point of view as well in the process.'
The concept of citizenship and how to describe the issue of
citizenship in the new constitution were discussed at the Abant
Platform's first panel discussion on Friday. In that regard,
Galatasaray University lecturer Birol Caymaz said the description of
citizenship should be inclusive.
On the same line, Rober KoptaÅ?, the editor-in-chief of the
Turkish-Armenian Agos weekly, said he wants to forget that he is an
Armenian.
`Conditions in Turkey constantly remind me that I am an Armenian. This
is a painful fact that I cannot escape from. I'd like to feel that I
belong to this land, and I want to get lost in the crowds. The new
constitution should promise that future to us,' he said, adding that
Turkey's Armenians do not want to be treated any differently than
others but just want to be treated as equal citizens.
`Armenians here believe they are second-class citizens. Minority
rights should be guaranteed not with international agreements but with
a consensus in society above those international agreements,' he also
said.
Speaking on the same topic, Gazi University lecturer Vedat Bilgin said
a definition of `democratic citizenship' could be the key for solving
problems in relation to citizenship. `The new constitution should
protect micro identities and at the same time allow a macro
transformation,' he said.
Orhan MiroÄ?lu, a Kurdish writer, said on the same issue, `We should
seek answers to how to keep many identities together. Not meeting
demands is threatening for people. If we don't solve this problem with
a new constitution, it's possible that different identities will seek
ways to part ways.'
Participants of the Abant Platform will examine the constitutional
process under the headings of `mother tongue education,' `local
governments in the balance of a unitary state and autonomy,' `freedom
of religion,' `religious education,' and `the position of the
president in the Constitution.'
Former Supreme Court of Appeals President Sami Selçuk and academics
from various universities and journalists from Turkey's many dailies
will lead the discussions.
As with every Abant meeting, the platform will release a summary
declaration arising from the discussions' conclusions. The Abant
Platform is an independent think tank that takes its name from Lake
Abant in the province of Bolu, the location of its first meeting. It
is one of the most well-known programs of the GYV, which was
established in 1994. Its mission and work were inspired by the GYV's
honorary president, Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen.
http://www.todayszaman.com/news-273842-abant-tackles-contentious-issue-of-drafting-new-constitution.html