Tag: constitutional reform

End of Kurdish MPs’ boycott raises hopes for new constitution in Turkey

End of Kurdish MPs’ boycott raises hopes for new constitution in Turkey

Thomas Seibert

The newly elected MPs of the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party and its chairman, Selahattin Demirtas, (foreground) seen arriving outside the parliamentary building in Ankara as they ended a four-month boycott of the Turkish parliament. ADEM ALTAN / AFP PHOTO

ISTANBUL // The decision by Turkey’s main Kurdish party to end a parliamentary boycott has boosted hopes for a political consensus on a new constitution that could help solve the Kurdish question.

But as Kurdish deputies took their oaths of office during Saturday’s first session of parliament after the summer break, and government and opposition promised to support all-party talks about a new constitution, continuing violence in the Kurdish region served as a reminder of how difficult the road to peace is likely to be.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish prime minister, said last week that he hoped for an agreement on a constitution within the first six months of the coming year.

On Saturday, he added that he was prepared to have Turkey’s intelligence service take up new negotiations with Kurdish rebels, sworn enemies of Ankara.

There is broad agreement among politicians, non-governmental groups and academics that Turkey, a rising regional power and an EU candidate country, needs to replace its constitution, which was written under military rule in 1982 and includes many regulations restricting democracy.

But opinions about how the new one should look differ widely.

Mr Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), which raked in almost 50 per cent of the vote in parliamentary elections in June, has started preliminary talks with two opposition parties, the secularist Republican People’s Party (CHP) and the right-wing Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), about the shape of negotiations on the constitution.

The parties agreed to set up a special committee for work on the new basic law.

In a step widely seen as reaching out to the Kurds, the prime minister said the AKP would seek talks in the coming days with the Party for a Democratic Society (BDP), the main Kurdish party.

The BDP won about 30 seats in June but refused to send its deputies to parliament, in protest against the imprisonment of a colleague.

The party decided last week to end the boycott so it would not be left out of the constitutional talks.

The BDP parliamentary group established after the oath-taking on Saturday includes Leyla Zana, a legendary Kurdish politician who spent 10 years in prison after speaking Kurdish during her first oath-taking in parliament in 1991, and Erol Dora, Turkey’s first Christian deputy since the 1960s.

But for all the symbolism and the hope for a speedy agreement on a new basic law, politicians and analysts alike warn that negotiations will not be easy.

Selahattin Demirtas, the BDP leader, said after a meeting with Abdullah Gul, Turkey’s president: “We have entered a tough new phase.”

Turkish courts have jailed numerous BDP members for suspected links to the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), a rebel group that has been fighting against the Turkish state since 1984.

Just as politicians in Ankara get ready to tackle the question of whether to enshrine cultural rights of minority groups like Turkey’s estimated 12 million Kurds in the new constitution, the PKK has stepped up its violent campaign in the Kurdish region.

While increasing attacks on outposts of the military and the police, PKK fighters have also started to target civilians.

Twelve teachers, seen by the PKK as representatives of a system that suppresses Kurdish language rights, have been kidnapped by rebels in recent days.

Two weeks ago, four female civilians were killed in a PKK attack in the province of Siirt. The rebels later apologised for the deaths.

Last week, a pregnant woman and her 4-year-old daughter were killed in another shoot-out between PKK members and the police in Batman.

Police say the woman and the girl were shot by PKK members but pro-Kurdish media say police bullets killed them.

As a response to the increase in attacks by the PKK which started in August, Mr Erdogan has ordered airstrikes on rebel camps in northern Iraq.

The government is also asking parliament to extend a mandate for cross-order operations of the armed forces, which would enable Ankara to strike at the PKK in Iraq with an intervention by ground forces.

Mithat Sancar, a law professor at Ankara University, said: “There is a logic of war on both sides.” But while the state was trying to weaken the PKK militarily to force it to accept a solution, the rebels were convinced the state would solve the Kurdish question only under pressure of violence, he said “It is a vicious circle,” Mr Sancar said.

The violence had the potential to derail the political process that was about to begin with the constitutional negotiations, he said.

However, Mr Sancar said, there were also signs of hope, such as the BDP’s return to parliament and Mr Erdogan’s willingness to talk to the Kurdish party.

“This demonstrates that both sides are expecting something from a peaceful process,” Mr Sancar said.

“Both sides are aware that violence is a dead-end street.”

tseibert@thenational.ae

via End of Kurdish MPs’ boycott raises hopes for new constitution in Turkey – The National.

October 3, 2011
Turkey Undertakes Big Push to Replace Military Constitution

The speaker of the Turkish parliament held meetings on Monday with constitutional experts on the writing of a new constitution. There is broad political agreement on the need for replacing the 1982 constitution written by Turkey’s then-military rulers. A new constitution is seen as especially crucial to addressing the demands of the country’s Kurdish minority. Major problems lie ahead, however, for the government in its constitutional reform efforts.

addresses members of parliament during a debate at the Turkish Parliament in Ankara, Turkey, November 2009. (file photo) “]With handshakes and smiles, Turkish parliament speaker Cemil Cicek greeted leading constitutional experts. Cicek said a new constitution is key to modernizing the country and achieving its goal of European Union membership. The gathering is the first step in the government’s bid to replace the current constitution, which is synonymous with oppression and lack of freedoms. There is wide agreement that it needs to be replaced. Building on that consensus, parliamentary deputy and senior member of the ruling AK party Volkan Bozkir said the whole process must be inclusive.

“The main pillar of the whole system is the constitution. The constitution we have now is the product of a military coup d’etat in 1980. The mentality of the constitution is not a liberal one,” said Bozkir. “The best thing to do is to have new constitution. But everybody must feel comfortable with the new constitution, and to do that, the sensitivities of everybody should be taken into consideration. And of course it should be decided with a public referendum.

The government has committed itself to consult with all the parliamentary parties. While there is acknowledgement on the need for reform, though, deep divisions remain over the nature of it. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is widely considered to want to change Turkey from a parliamentary to a presidential system, a proposal strongly opposed by all the opposition parties. But with Erdogan having secured 50 percent of the vote in last June’s election, political columnist Asli Aydintasbas warns government talk of consensus may just be talk.

“He does not feel the need to compromise, and basically this whole talk of consensus was not really about compromise,” said Aydintasbas. “It was like, ‘let’s sit around the table and come around to whatever the 50 percent want.’ It’s a problem. I don’t think with the boycott and the kind of mood and rhetoric people are using, we are going to have a big consensus around the new constitution. I don’t see it happening.”

The boycott that Aydintasbas is referring to is by the country’s main pro-Kurdish party, the BDP. Its deputies are refusing to take their parliamentary oaths because six of their colleagues are languishing in jail, despite having parliamentary immunity. The constitutional reform process is already overshadowed by increased fighting between the state and the Kurdish rebel group, the PKK. Arrests of BDP members also continue, with 55 over in recent days under anti-terror laws. Political scientist Soli Ozel warns the whole constitutional process is under threat.

“The central problem is going to be how to redefine citizenship. If it leaves the Kurdish nationalists out, then it will be a lame constitution,” said Ozel. “But the government obviously [is] banking on [the] fact that it feels qualified to speak on behalf of the Kurds, as well, because it gets in the country in general almost half of the Kurdish vote.”

The leadership of the pro-Kurdish BDP has said it will end its boycott, however, if the government gives a commitment to end cross-border operations into northern Iraq against PKK bases. Also, they want an end to the isolation of imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan. It remains unclear whether the government will meet those demands. But Parliamentary Deputy Bozkir believes the constitutional process will have wide parliamentary political participation.

“They might have some tough talks in the parliament, that is understandable. But when it comes to issues which is in the interest of the country, I am really very hopeful we will have just to put the opposition parties into the process and have their views and have the constitution as a common project,” said Bozkir.

A new constitution is widely touted as key to turning Turkey into a modern democracy and paving the way to resolving the deep divisions that continue to plague its society. Already those divisions are threatening to overwhelm the government’s efforts, though, to finally sever the country’s last tie with its military past.

via Turkey Undertakes Big Push to Replace Military Constitution | Europe | English, VOA

September 21, 2011
Turkish minorities back constitutional change

Turkey goes to the polls on Sunday in a vote that will not only provide the country with a new government, but also a new constitution.

Turkey is a country of some 74 million, 94 per cent of them Muslims, the rest are Turks of Jewish and Syrian origin, as well as a small Greek community.

The largest minority grouping is the Turkish-Armenian community with a population of about 60,000 mostly living in and around Istanbul.

The prospect of a new constitution based on social justice and human rights and religious freedom is backed by the majority of these ‘minority groups’.

The current constitution, forged in 1982 following the 1980 military coup, reinforces state and military authority and restricts individual rights and freedoms, it is a situation that needs to change according to Robert Koptaş, Editor of AGOS, the biggest selling Armenian newspaper in Turkey:

“When you examine the situation you see an improvement in government rhetoric. The government claims eveyone is equal before the law Muslims and non-Muslims. Some improvements have been made on minority groups rights to property ownership, which was a huge problem for us, it was a pretext to take the assets of non-Muslim organisations.”

The Jewish community agree things are changing for the better. Silvio Ovadya, a former leader of the Jewish community, said:

“Within the new articles in the law religious minorities have been handed new rights. For the first time in 50 or 60 years a new synagogue has opened.”

For the small Turkish Greek Orthodox community the reopening of the Halki seminary is key to improving relations between the community and the majority and has been the subject of accession negotiations between Brussels and Ankara.

The religious institution was closed by the Turkish government in 1971 and been the subject of a campaign to reopen it for the past 40 years.

Bora Bayraktar, our correspondent in Istanbul for euronews said: “ The question of minorities remains an important issue for Turkish accession to the EU. Progress has been made in recent years but for the Greek Orthodox minority the reopening of the seminary is pressing, and Turkey looks set to agree.”

Copyright © 2011 euronews

via Turkish minorities back constitutional change | euronews, world news.

June 13, 2011
EP urges constitutional reform in Turkey

”]The European Parliament’s (EP) Committee on Foreign Affairs has ratified a resolution on Turkey’s progress in EU accession that is widely viewed as the most critical report in recent years.

It was adopted on Wednesday (March 9th) by a large majority, following intense debates among members — and particularly between the Christian Democrats and Socialists.

The former eventually withdrew a proposed amendment suggesting the possibility of a privileged partnership for Turkey as an alternative to full EU membership, while the latter pushed for text stating that full EU membership is the goal. The final text describes the negotiations as a long-lasting and open-ended process.

The resolution, put forward by rapporteur Ria Oomen-Ruijten, describes the accession process as having reached a deadlock. The Cyprus issue, lack of co-operation among Turkish political parties, and weakening respect for basic rights in Turkey are the key factors that hamper accession talks, Oomen-Ruijten said during the debate.

The report laments legal provisions which it described as limiting press freedom and freedom of expression. It expressed concern over long pre-trial detention periods and the arrest of journalists during a probe into alleged coup plans.

It also said not enough progress was being seen in women’s rights.

“There is legislation on domestic violence and so-called honour killings, but the implementation is lagging behind,” Oomen-Ruijten told the EP. “I also call on political parties to use the opportunity of the upcoming elections to strengthen women’s active engagement in politics.”

Minorities, she said, were also not receiving sufficient protection.

The resolution calls for wide-ranging constitutional reform aimed at transforming Turkey into a full-fledged pluralistic democracy, as well as changes to the electoral system — in particular, removing the 10% threshold for parliamentary representation.

On a more positive note, the report commends the progress made in civil-military relations, while urging full parliamentary oversight of the security forces, including the defence budget.

On foreign policy, Cyprus was the dominant topic. The report calls for Turkey to withdraw its forces from Cyprus immediately, to refrain from any new settlements of Turkish citizens on the island and to contribute in specific terms to a comprehensive agreement concerning ongoing negotiations on the Cyprus issue.

At the same time, the parliamentarians called on EU authorities to step up co-operation on foreign policy issues, arguing that Turkey is a role model among Arab countries with its secularism and democracy. Dialogue on liberalising the visa regime should be initiated once a readmission agreement comes into force, they said.

Turkey has reacted mildly to previous reports, but this one drew a strong response from Ankara. The Turkish Foreign Ministry issued a statement calling it one-sided, out of line with reality, and unacceptable to Turkey.

“Turkey, as a negotiating EU candidate country, expects the EP, the voice of the European people and EU public, to take a fair and objective stand and display seriousness required by its function,” the statement said.

“We observe that the report includes some views of a limited number of EP members, who represent certain countries, with concern over their domestic politics at the cost of risking the EU’s interests,” it said.

This content was commissioned for SETimes.com.

March 12, 2011