Turkey wrestles with a 'judicial
coup' By Hilmi Toros
ISTANBUL - Turkey is locked in a do-or-die
duel between its secular "fundamentalism" and
"moderate" Islam. The outcome is likely to bring
profound changes at home, and may affect its
controversial bid for European Union membership.
The all-embracing clash is coming to a
boiling point after the Constitutional Court
agreed to take up a case brought by the chief
prosecutor to close down the ruling and highly
popular Justice and Development Party (AKP) on the
grounds it has become a cover for anti-secular
activity bent on replacing the secular regime with
an Islamic one.
The prosecution also asked
that AKP chairman and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan, President Abdullah Gul and 69
other senior party
officials be barred from politics for five years.
The AKP, despite its Islamist roots,
denies the charges, and portrays itself as
"conservative democrat" and loyal to entrenched
secularism. The party is also portrayed as an
expression of "moderate" Islam, as opposed to a
more extreme form.
Party closures are not
rare in Turkey, which is a notorious graveyard for
political parties. In the past four decades, the
judiciary has shut down a score, including two
Islamist ones with Erdogan and many other present
AKP leaders in their cadres. The EU's human rights
tribunal has upheld the closures as being in line
with the country's laws.
Also facing
closure by the Constitutional Court is the
pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP),
accused of links to the outlawed separatist
Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).
The
constitutional duel pits AKP, in control of the
legislative and executive branches as well as the
presidency, against non-elected but powerful and
entrenched powers - the judiciary and the
military, both viewing themselves as guardians of
secularism established by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk,
founder of modern Turkey, in 1923.
The
ruling party is now preparing its written and oral
defense. It could, among alternatives, consider
changes to the constitution to nullify its
closure, or go for a referendum.
The fact
that AKP, which won 47% of the vote in the
election last year, could be wiped out is causing
waves both at home and abroad, especially since
the shutdown is seen as likely.
"From a
viewpoint of law, the prosecution has a strong
case," Istanbul attorney Sanem Yunusoglu told
Inter Press Service in an interview. "I believe
the party will be closed."
She noted that
eight of 11 Supreme Court judges were appointed by
the staunchly secular former president Ahmet
Necdet Sezer, while only seven votes are needed
for the verdict.
"Yes, the party has
overwhelming parliamentary majority [320 seats in
the 550-member chamber]," she said. "But it shows
more interest in flexing its political muscle than
respect for established laws. Political power is
not above law."
French author Jerome
Bastion, an Istanbul-based analyst of the Turkish
scene, told IPS that he too thinks a closure is
likely, adding that Turkey has entered a period of
instability. The AKP, sensing inevitable closure,
could disband itself, Bastion says, as done
previously by parties facing bans, and form
another one, thus keeping its parliamentary
majority, or go for early elections it could
easily win again.
But if the indictment
holds, charismatic Erdogan may be out of political
activity for five years.
According to
Hasan Cemal from the daily Milliyet, the "judicial
coup" began when the court agreed to take up the
case. The pro-government daily Zaman called the
indictment "totalitarian secularism".
The
EU, which accepted Turkey as a candidate member in
1999 and opened accession talks in 2005, is
watching closely. EU Commission president Jose
Manuel Barroso paid his first visit to Turkey last
week and has made clear that closing down a party
is in line with EU norms only if a party espouses
changes through violence. EU Enlargement
Commissioner Olli Rehn has said that closing a
democratically elected party through judicial
means could prejudice Turkey's EU bid.
The
English-language daily Turkish News quoted Joost
Lagenijk, Dutch co-president of the EU-Turkey
Joint Parliamentary Commission, as saying: "The
judiciary wants to teach a lesson to the people of
Turkey, saying they have chosen wrongly in the
elections. This is unacceptable."
The
indictment against the AKP, citing public
statements by its leaders on the predominance of
religious values, came to a head when the AKP
spearheaded constitutional amendments to lift the
ban on headscarves in universities - seen by
secularists as a symbol of political Islam rather
than an expression of freedom as claimed.
The amendment was passed, but the secular
opposition People's Republican Party (CHP)
petitioned the Supreme Court to rule it invalid on
the grounds that it is against an overriding
constitutional clause stipulating that the secular
nature of the republic cannot be changed, or even
proposed for change.
A bigger issue for
Turkey, still unanswered, is: what if an
overwhelming number of people put their faith in
an Islamic-rooted party despite claims that it is
not secular? Can people vote out secularism?
If the struggle between secularists and
those accused of being anti-secular spins out of
control, the final arbiter could again be the
military, whose armor has deposed four elected
governments since 1960, including one it
considered anti-secular. So far, the top brass has
abstained from involvement in the controversy -
but it is on constant watch.
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