TURKISH LAW CHANGE NOT RULED OUT

Alalam News Network
April 10 2008
Iran

ANKARA, April 10–Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said on
Thursday he would not rule out amending the constitution if a top court
moves to close his ruling AK Party on charges of Islamic activities.

European Union applicant Turkey has been dealing with a political raw
since a chief prosecutor asked the Constitutional Court last month
to shut down the party.

Erdogan told a joint news conference with European Commission President
Jose Manuel Barroso: "If it is necessary such a step will be taken
but if it is not necessary the legal process will be followed just
as it is."

Giving a cautious response, Barroso said, "What I can tell you frankly
is that I hope the decision of the Constitutional Court will be a
decision compatible with the rule of law, European standards, with
jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights."

AKP supporters see the court case as a fresh attack by hardline
secularists, whose prominent members include some judges, the military
and some academics, after the party’s re-election for a second term
in July with almost 47 percent of the vote.

Barroso urged Turkey speed up democracy reforms, saying that "there
is a long way to go" before it catches up with EU membership criteria.

He urged Ankara to focus on improving freedom of speech, the rights
of women, trade unions and religious and ethnic minorities.

Barroso said he was confident that two new policy areas would be
opened for negotiations with Turkey by July, bringing the total to
eight out of 35 chapters that candidates are required to complete.

Erdogan reassured that Ankara was "putting all its efforts and
determination" behind the country’s accession bid.

"Our common objective is membership and we cannot accept any other
alternative," he said, referring to opposition by EU countries such
as France and Germany, who advocate special partnership rather than
full accession for the mainly Muslim nation.

Keen to mend its pro-EU credibility, the government submitted to
parliament this week a proposal to amend a law the EU has denounced
as a threat to freedom of speech in Turkey.

Barroso welcomed the draft as "a step in the right direction."

The proposal aims to soften Article 301 of the penal code, which
calls for up to three years in jail for "insulting Turkishness"
and has been used mainly against critics of Turkey’s official line
on Armenian massacres under the Ottoman Empire.