Today’s Zaman, Turkey
March 7 2009

Wise Men call for new constitution, judicial reform to surmount obstacles

BÄ°LGESAM’s report on Turkey’s current situation and future
challenges was made public by retired Ambassador Ä°lter
Türkmen on Thursday.
The Wise Men Center for Strategic Studies (BÄ°LGESAM), a think
tank formed by retired soldiers, ambassadors and academics, called for
the preparation of a new civilian constitution and enactment of
judicial reforms to overcome future challenges in a report made public
on Thursday.

The think tank’s report on Turkey’s current situation and future
challenges was penned by retired Ambassador Ä°lter
Türkmen, a former foreign minister, with contributions by
BİLGESAM Chairman Atilla Sandıklı, former Supreme
Court of Appeals President Sami Selçuk and retired Ambassador
Ã-zdem Sanberk. The report underlined that Turkey urgently needed
to reform its judicial system to eliminate its current flaws, to take
sound steps on the path toward full membership in the European Union,
to adopt a new civilian constitution to replace the current one, which
was prepared under military rule, and to provide its citizens with
broader rights.

`Turkey has long been the target of harsh criticism from the EU due to
violations of freedom of expression and religion, which has made
judicial reform a must for the country. … Reforms implemented so far
as part of the EU accession process have not managed to eliminate all
the flaws of our democracy. The latest annual report [on Turkey’s
progress toward full EU membership] showed that little progress had
been made over the past year, raising serious concerns about freedom
of expression, the independence of the judiciary and the military’s
interference in politics, among other issues,’ read the
BÄ°LGESAM report.

The report said that because recent amendments made to the current
Constitution, which was drafted under military rule in the wake of the
Sept. 12, 1980 coup, have not adequately met the needs of the Turkish
nation, it is necessary to replace it with a new one.

There has been growing demand in Turkey for a new civilian
constitution that would meet the country’s contemporary needs. The
ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) formed an independent
commission in 2007 to prepare a draft of a new civilian
constitution. However, this work was shelved when a closure case was
filed against the AK Party in March of last year on charges of
anti-secularism.

The governing party plans to refocus on drafting a civilian
constitution shortly after the upcoming local elections, which are
slated for March 29.

The report also stressed that a recent amendment to the notorious
Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK) was superficial and had
cleared the way for new problems. The article, under which a number of
intellectuals and activists have been tried for `insulting
Turkishness,’ was amended last May.

`Keeping all these flaws in mind, judicial reforms should ensure,
first of all, that the principles of justice are internalized in a way
that would not lead to misinterpretation. The judiciary should not be
open to subjectivity, and its members should refrain from making
rulings based on their own ideologies,’ the report went on to say.

BÄ°LGESAM made an open call to Turkish authorities to accelerate
their efforts toward full membership in the EU, which would also
contribute to modernization efforts in the country. The think tank
pointed to the actions of anti-Turkish ethnic lobbies in Europe,
European leaders failing to keep their promises about Turkey’s EU
membership and the exhausting EU negotiation process as the reasons
behind a recent loss of momentum in Turkey’s EU bid.

Suggestions on the Kurdish issue

The think tank also put forward a few suggestions for resolution of
the longstanding Kurdish problem. Turkey’s Kurdish question has
existed since the founding of the Turkish Republic and became violent
during the past 25 years, as the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party
(PKK) launched an armed campaign against Turkish civilians and
security forces in Turkey’s predominantly Kurdish Southeast.

The report said solving the Kurdish problem within the unity of the
state depends on recognition of the cultural identity of Kurds, adding
that all obstacles before the use of the Kurdish language should be
eliminated.

`Although regulations that banned the public use of Kurdish were
changed, the ban continues as far as implementation is concerned,’
read the report. The public use of Kurdish was prohibited following a
1980 military coup, and this ban remained in place until 1991. The AK
Party has recently taken significant steps toward providing the
Kurdish population their cultural rights. Among these steps was the
dedication of one of the Turkish Radio and Television Corporation’s
(TRT) channels to 24-hour Kurdish broadcasting in a bid to fulfill a
long-sought demand from the country’s Kurds. BÄ°LGESAM
appreciated this move, saying such steps should not be considered
threatening to the country.

The think tank additionally called for an end to all administrative
rules preventing the use of Kurdish outside official meetings and said
Kurdish language courses should be offered as electives at schools
where demand for them exists. `Kurdish institutes should be allowed to
operate,’ said the report, adding that the pro-Kurdish Democratic
Society Party (DTP) should not be shut down.

The DTP, which has 21 legislators in Parliament, faces closure by the
Constitutional Court for its alleged ties to the PKK. The case is
still under deliberation at the court. The party has control over much
of Turkey’s predominantly Kurdish Southeast.

The report stated that it would be unrealistic to ignore the
administration in northern Iraq when dealing with the Kurdish
issue. It said the emergence of a partially autonomous Kurdish
administration in a region that is rich in natural resources near the
Iraqi-Turkish border would have a considerable impact on developments
within Turkey.

`It is not easy to predict whether the entity in northern Iraq will
gain independence, which looks quite unlikely at the moment. But, it
will become more autonomous,’ said the think tank. It called on the
Turkish government for a more constructive, rather than
confrontational, relationship with the Kurdish administration in
northern Iraq.

The report said several countries in the world have relations with
northern Iraq, noting that Iran has a consulate in Arbil. `Iran will
take northern Iraq under its influence if Turkey has a confrontational
relationship with it. In this way, Iran will expand its impact on both
northern and southern Iraq, which will go against the interests of
Turkey,’ the report said.

Armenian `genocide’ resolution

BÄ°LGESAM said Turkey is in a deadlock over the issue of the
Armenian claims of genocide, with Armenians insistent on their claims
that the 1915 killings of Anatolian Armenians by Ottoman Turks
constituted genocide.

`The parliaments of 17 countries have recognized Armenian genocide
resolutions. US President Barack Obama referred to the killings of
Armenians as genocide during the 2008 election campaign and promised
the Armenian lobby that he would recognize their claims. … As it is
not possible for Turkey to recognize the Armenian genocide claims, the
best thing that can be done at the moment is to create an environment
in which the problem can be pushed to the back burner over time,’ read
the report.

The report also stressed that President Abdullah Gül’s visit to
Yerevan last year contributed a great deal to the improvement of ties
between Turkey and Armenia. Gül visited Yerevan in September of
last year to watch the World Cup qualifying match between the national
teams of the two countries, which observers have said was a turning
point for the settlement of longstanding disputes between the two
neighbors.

07 March 2009, Saturday
TODAY’S ZAMAN Ä°STANBUL