RICE CAUTIOUS ON TURKISH CONSTITUTIONAL CRISIS
By Desmond Butler

Associated Press
April 15 2008

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza

Rice took a cautious line on Turkey’s constitutional crisis in a
speech at a Turkish-American conference Monday on relations between
the two countries.

In her speech at the conference organized by the American-Turkish
Council, Rice avoided direct reference to an issue that is dividing
Turkey. The country’s top court decided Monday to hear a case for
banning the Islamic-rooted ruling party.

In her speech, Rice made oblique references to the case, comparing
Turkey’s tensions with the struggles of the United States to resolve
its own constitutional problems over time.

When asked about the issue by a reporter after the speech, Rice said
the United States is following the developments closely and called
it a matter for Turks to decide.

"We believe and hope that this will be decided within Turkey’s secular
democratic context, and by secular democratic principles," she said.

Rice’s approach stood in contrast to that of European Union. Last week,
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso warned that banning
the party would have a "major impact" on Turkey’s ties with the EU,
which the Turkish government wants to join.

The case stems from a charge by a Turkish prosecutor that the
country’s ruling party has violated constitutional laws protecting
secular principals.

The prosecutor has asked the court to bar 71 people, including Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and President Abdullah Gul, from politics
for five years.

The court’s decision to hear the case has highlighted the power
struggle between the secular establishment and allies of Erdogan,
pious Muslims who have advocated Western-style reforms as part of
Turkey’s bid to join the European Union.

In her speech, Rice did pointedly praise Erdogan for a proposal
to soften a law that restricts freedom of speech. The law, which
currently makes denigrating Turkish identity or insulting the
country’s institutions punishable by up to three years in prison,
has drawn criticism from the European Union and the United States.

Turkish-American relations have been tense in recent years, but have
improved since the United States began aiding Turkish operations
against Kurdish rebels in Northern Iraq by providing intelligence.

The Bush administration also headed off a push by some lawmakers last
year to pass a resolution opposed by Turkey that would have declared
the World War I-era killings of Armenians a genocide.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress