Turkey Analyst, 23 April 2008

NEWS DIGEST, April 9-22, 2008

SECTION II: DOMESTIC NEWS

Summary: Much of the domestic debate was split between arguments over changes to Article 301 of the penal codes, with dissenting voices both from the opposition and within the ruling party; and the ongoing speculation of how the AKP will act to fend off the pending court case for its closure.

AKP WILL SEEK AGREEMENT WITH THE OPPOSITION IN THE FRAMEWORK OF DEMOCRATIZATION
8 April
After the case to ban the AKP was submitted, the party began to search for a way to prevent a potentially negative result via constitutional amendment. However, the AKP recently changed its direction and proposed an extended democratization package instead of one based solely on the problems that emerged due the case. The AKP is planning to offer a constitutional amendment proposal that will include the extension of the fundamental rights and liberties in addition to changing the political party system in accordance with EU norms. The governing party also intends to reach an agreement with the opposition within the framework of democratization. After a six-hour meeting of the central administrative council yesterday, Vice Chairman of the party, Dengir Firat, repeated that the AKP government aimed to reach an agreement. Mr. Firat also emphasized the importance of the principle of secularism by underlining that secularism is a common value and should thus be shielded from political controversy. (Radikal)

POSSIBILITY OF ABANDONING THE CONSTITUTIONAL PACKAGE
April 9
In search of a solution against its ban, the Justice and Development Party (AKP) discussed the option of giving up the extended constitutional amendment planned to be presented to the parliament after the mini-package related to the closure case. The Deputy Head of the AKP, Dengir Firat, reported that the AKPs agenda included many different solutions and added that the probability that they would give up the above-mentioned changes was fifty- fifty.   The AKP general staff is intent on producing an international text of defense. Prime Minister Erdoğan’s directions have included conducting comprehensive research and, if necessary, to take opinions of foreign lawyers in account. It is assumed that the AKP seeks to employ an international judicial perspective that could come from the European Human Rights Court on the decision against its closure. The meeting of the executive body of the AKP has yet to decide on its strategy for the amendments that will make banning political parties more difficult. It appears that the idea of addressing the changes after the defense has more support. However, some AKP parliamentarians believe that the planned constitutional changes have been abandoned. (Sabah)

ARTICLE 301 GESTURE TO BARROSO BLOCKED
April 9
The AKP leadership wanted to pass the proposal for the amendment concerning Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code, which was presented to the parliament during the visit of the Head of the EU Commission José Manuel Barroso. However, the proposal could not go beyond the Chairperson of the parliament, Güldal Mumcu of the Republican People’s Party (CHP). An unusual tactical struggle on the matter of sending the proposal for the 301 amendment to the committee occurred yesterday between the CHP and AKP groups. Taking the place of the speaker of the parliament Köksal Toptan who was in China, Mrs. Mumcu (with the signature of AKP parliamentarian Veysi Kaynak of the Kahramanmaraş province) did not send the committee the proposal presented to the Chairmanship of the Parliament concerning the amendment in Article 301. “The speaker of the parliament will send it when he comes” stated Mrs. Mumcu. AKP parliamentarians asked for the withdrawal of Mrs. Mumcu’s decision, stating that their main concern was to enact the proposal into a law as soon as possible. Conversely, the CHP side dismissed their request as a gesture to the Head of the EU Commission Mr. Barroso. (Radikal)

THE SOLUTION FOR THE KURDISH PROBLEM IS DEMOCRACY
10 April
President Abdullah Gül emphasized the development of democracy as the solution for the political and economic problems in southeast Anatolia while speaking to the representatives of seventeen civil society organizations based in Diyarbakır. While describing differences as a form of “richness”, Mr. Gül said, “The problems will be solved more easily when our democracy improves. We aspire for our democracy to meet EU standards”. Representatives of the seventeen civil society organizations headed by the chairman of the Diyarbakır Chamber of Industry and Commerce, Mehmet Kaya, also met Prime Minister Erdoğan and CHP (Republican People’s Party) Leader Deniz Baykal. “I am as friendly and warm as I was in 1989. We were sometimes misunderstood because of our sensitivity about the struggle against terrorism. You must remember that we are the party that requested the state not to interfere in the ethnic origins issue in 1989. The state has no right to assimilate people,” said Mr. Baykal to the group. The representatives of the civil society organizations also asked for an appointment with MHP (Nationalist Action Party) leader Mr. Bahçeli; however he rejected this request. (Radikal)

MUMCU CRISIS IN ARTICLE 301
10 April
Vice Speaker of the Parliament, CHP deputy Güldal Mumcu, obstructed the AKPs proposal concerning the amendment of Article 301 (Indicating that those who insult ‘Turkishness’ should be punished). The AKP wanted to pass the amendment prior to the visit of the President of the EU Commission José Manuel Barroso. Speaker of the Parliament Köksal Toptan who is now in China, allegedly contacted Mrs. Mumcu and said that she did not need to wait for him to approve and send the proposal. However, Mrs. Mumcu indicated that it would be more appropriate to wait for Mr. Toptan and rejected the request. When journalists inquired about the reason for not to approving the proposal, Mrs. Mumcu replied, “I do not believe that this is an urgent issue. I found it appropriate to wait for the Speaker of the Parliament”. Regarding the decision of Mrs. Mumcu, Vice President of the CHP Group in the Parliament Kemal Anadol said, “We are facing a dishonorable situation. They (the AKP) want to make a gesture for Mr. Barroso by passing the amendment in Article 301 prior to his arrival. Mr. Toptan, who is currently in China, should be held responsible for this proposal. Vice Speaker of the Parliament Mrs. Mumcu found it appropriate to wait for Mr. Toptan after considering the importance of the proposal. That is all.” (Milliyet)

BASBUG: CULTURAL RIHTS SHOULD BE INDIVIDUAL
12 April
The Chief of Land Forces, General İlker Başbuğ, underlined that Turkey respects cultural differences and stated, “Nobody can ask Turkey to make political arrangements that would jeopardize the unitary state structure. General Başbuğ, who is in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus to evaluate the Command Headquarters of the Cyprus Turkish Peace Forces and to participate in the annual ‘Plan Seminar’, delivered following messages at a press conference: “Turkey respects cultural differences, and in terms of culture it has realized many arrangements, some still in place today, to promote cultural richness under the condition that it remains individual and does not harm the structure of the nation-state. The country will be led to polarization if there are attempts to bring the issue of culture within the domain of politics and to organize the state along ethnic lines. He mentioned that it was his duty as a commander responsible for the struggle against separatist terror organizations, to warn about some marginal groups that aspire to bring Turkey to such a point. (Radikal)

BAHÇELI: AKP SEEKING EU AID TO SAVE ITS FUTURE
15 April
Nationalist Action Party (MHP) Chairman Devlet Bahçeli stated in the group meeting of his party that the strategy the AKP intends to pursue during the process of the case has begun to clarify. He accused the AKP of trying to use the support of the EU and the US as an element of threat and to influence the judiciary. He claimed that in exchange for this support the AKP would implement orders given by the EU, disguised as reforms. Mr. Bahçeli said that the first “payment” was to allow the cursing Turkish values, which is why the proposal to revise the 301st article of the penal code had been brought to the agenda of the parliament. Mr. Bahçeli stressed that the objective of the Ankara visit of Mr. Barroso was to check the AKP’s record of obedience to the EU orders, support the AKP in the banning case as well as to remind Mr. Erdoğan that it is time to see some results about the pledges he had made. (Sabah)

OBJECTIONS TO ARTICLE 301 CHANGES
15 April
Speaker of the Parliament Köksal Toptan raised an objection to the proposal to make an amendment in the 301st article of the Penal code. Mr. Toptan based his objection on the grounds that granting the right to submit a case against those who “harmed” Turkishness to the president could put the president in problematic situations. According to Mr. Toptan, once the courts approve the indictments, a serious crime investigation must be carried out before making a decision. He stated that seeking the approval of the Minister of Justice - as it was before - would be the most appropriate way. (Hurriyet)

AKP LEFT ALONE IN 301
16 April
Democratic Society Party (DTP) Leader Ahmet Türk, who wants the 301st article of the Penal code to be entirely abolished, stated that they would not support the AKPs proposal regarding an amendment in the article. Underlining that the government slowed down the EU reform process, Mr. Türk said, “The EU project is swimming the waters of nationalism”(?). Speaking in the group meeting of his party, Mr. Türk stated: “Society is being forced to make a decision between a nationalist-chauvinist line and a political Islamist line. What this society needs is not lines, but democracy. Only then can we save Turkey from a crisis, via a fundamental transformation.” “The proposal (to amend the article 301 of the Penal code) protects the very spirit of the 301. Our stance in this matter is crystal clear. We want the murderer of Hrant Dink, Article 301, to be abolished completely. We will not support any “regulation” which does not amount to  a complete abolition of the 301st article” (Radikal)

BABACAN SPOKE TO TELEGRAPH
16 April
Yesterday Turkish Foreign minister Ali Babacan spoke to The Telegraph. In the news he mentioned three issues, namely the Turkish stance in the Afghanistan issue, the fight against the PKK and EU-membership. The Telegraph wrote that Mr. Babacan discarded the criticisms of the U.S. and the U.K. directed at the countries such as Turkey that opposed further deployment of troops to the problematic areas of Afghanistan. Mr. Babacan also said that an approach favoring more military involvement would weaken the Afghan government and would unavoidably backfire. Mr. Babacan further described the government in northern Iraq as a significant problem and predicted that the cross-border operations would continue. Mr. Babacan commented the approach of French president Sarkozy and German Chancellor Merkel toward Turkish membership to the EU, and said that this approach, combined with the failure to reach a permanent solution in Cyprus, is transforming Turkish public opinion about EU in a negative direction. (Sabah)

THERE IS NO “RESERVE” PARTY
16 April
Prime Minister Erdoğan stated that he did not believe that his party would be banned. Speaking to Al-Jazeera TV in Qatar yesterday, as a response to the question “Are you prepared for the possibility that your party could be banned, and do you have a substitute party?” Mr. Erdoğan said that he did not believe that his party would be banned and added that the AKP had not done anything that was unconstitutional. When asked whether they would amend the constitution in order to make banning political parties more difficult, Mr. Erdoğan said, “We do not have such an issue on our agenda for now. We will hold a meeting after my return from Qatar to discuss the matter. We will not make a hasty decision.” (Hurriyet)

REACTION FROM CHP TO GÜL
17 April
A negative signal came from the leader of the Republican People’s Party (CHP) Deniz Baykal to the invitation of President Abdullah Gül. Mr. Gül has invited the political party leaders to his residence on 23 April. Within CHP circles it is said that the participation of Mr. Baykal in a meeting that “has no subject” is unthinkable. Mr. Baykal has previously stated, “We will not go to the presidential residence unless we are invited to discuss vital issues of Turkey.” (Hurriyet)

PLAN B: EARLY ELECTIONS
18 April
The AKP has began to devise a plan to resort to in the event that it does not receive the support of the MHP and CHP regarding the constitutional amendment to make it more difficult to ban political parties. The AKP has decided to hold early elections if an agreement cannot be reached and the 29th of June is mentioned as a possible date. Moreover, the AKP executive committee is considering holding the local elections planned for March 2009 at the same time. A top AKP parliamentarian stated that “The only way to come out of this chaotic situation is by an election … The ban case is predicted to end within six or eight months. No country can tolerate such a long period of uncertainty. There have been three consecutive elections even in Greece.” The AKP intends to make it an election “for or against democracy”. (Sabah)

ŞENER: ANSWER DEMANDS NEW FORMATION
19 April
Former Deputy Prime Minister Abdüllatif Şener, one of the founding names of the AKP, gave an indication of new political formations. Speaking at a meeting of the Trade and Industry Chamber in Sivas he said, “Everyone knows that I am trying to put a different political understanding in place. If social demand comes out to give me new expectations, I will act accordingly… We can see that our citizens expect a new formation. There are new expectations about the shape and operation of politics. All these are propagated with my name… This demand has to mature first. If  a popular expectation for a movement giving rise to a new political understanding manifests itself and grows stronger, I will then answer those expectations. (Radikal)

TURKEY LIKELY TO AMEND ARTICLE 301 NEXT WEEK
April 22
Minister of Justice Mehmet Ali Şahin has stated that the parliament may pass an amendment to the Article 301 next week. The parliament's justice committee accepted the bill to amend the controversial Article 301 on Friday. Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code criminalizes insulting "Turkishness". Under the amendments proposed by the government, the term "Turkishness" will be replaced by the "Turkish nation," and the term "Republic" will be replaced with "State of the Republic of Turkey." The committee agreed to make the Minister of Justice responsible to approve any prosecution under the law. The initial proposal by the government sought the president's approval for prosecutors before they could press any charges related to the article. The bill also decreases the maximum punishment from three to two years, opening the way for the postponement of the prison term of those convicted under Article 301. The European Union has called on Turkey to amend Article 301, which has been the basis for charges against Turkish writers and journalists including Hrant Dink, Elif Safak,, Haluk Sahin and  Orhan Pamuk. (Hurriyet)

The Turkey Analyst
The Turkey Analyst is a publication of the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute & Silk Road Studies Joint Center, designed to bring authoritative analysis and news on the rapidly developing domestic and foreign policy issues in Turkey. It is published weekly, and includes a topical analysis, as well as translations and summaries of selected Turkish news reports. It is edited and compiled under the supervision of Svante E. Cornell, Halil M. Karaveli, and M. K. Kaya.

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