English
Turkey’s Governing Party Escapes Court Ban
 Prime Minister Erdogan said the AKP was committed to Turkey’s secular values |
Turkey’s highest court rejected a demand to outlaw the Islamist-rooted governing party AKP for undermining secularism in the country. The EU welcomed the ruling and called on Turkey to continue its reform process.
Six of the 11 judges voted in favor of closing down the Justice and Development Party (AKP) — one vote short of the required majority, Court President Hasim Kilic said on Wednesday, July 30.
But he added that the court was still sending the party a “serious warning” by cutting half of the treasury funds it was entitled to this year.
“I hope the party in question will evaluate this outcome very well and get the message it should get,” Kilic said.
AKP rejected the charges
The AKP had denied the charge of trying to create an Islamic state by stealth.
In his first remarks after Wednesday’s court ruling, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the AKP would continue to uphold Turkey’s secular values.
“The [AKP], which has never been a focal point of anti-secular activities, will continue to defend the basic principles of the republic,” Erdogan said. “From now on, everybody — and especially, we, the politicians — have the responsibility not to drag Turkey into such a situation again.”
Turkish Labor Minister Faruk Celik hailed the constitutional court ruling as a victory for democracy, according to CNN Turk.
The verdict was also greeted by cheers from AKP politicians watching a televised broadcast of the ruling in parliament.
“For our democratic development this is a very important decision,” Culture Minister Ertugrul Gunay told NTV.
The main evidence that Chief Prosecutor Abdurrahman Yalcinkaya presented to the court was his claim that attempts by Erdogan’s government to allow women to wear Islamic-style headscarves at universities were evidence that the party aimed to impose Islamic-style law.
European support
The European Union welcomed the court’s decision as “good news,” adding that the ruling should help lend political stability in the EU’s biggest candidate country.
“Of course we have to read it now in more detail, but it is positive,” said Cristina Gallach, a spokeswoman for EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana. “Turkey is living a tense situation and we very much hope that the decision by the court will contribute to restore political stability.”
European Commissioner for Enlargement Olli Rehn said he hoped Turkey’s political parties would work toward sustainable reforms based on broad-based dialogue.
“I encourage Turkey now to resume with full energy its reforms to modernize the country,” Rehn said in a statement.
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said he was relieved by the decision.
“Now it is important that all decision-makers make a contribution to reconciliation and political stability and stick to the path of reform,” he said in a statement.
History of confrontation
Since the 1960s, Turkish courts have banned more than 20 political parties — most of them pro-Kurdish or pro-Islamist — for purportedly threatening the country’s secularist principles. This is, however, the first time that a party with a huge majority has faced such a threat.
The decision also means that no politicians will be barred. Chief Prosecutor Yalcinkaya had sought to have more than 71 AKP members excluded from participating in party politics, including the President Abdullah Gul and the prime minister.
Source: DW
More Top News
Hollywood heavyweights Robert De Niro and Al Pacino reunited on the red carpet in New York Wednesday night for the premiere of their new crime thriller “Righteous Kill” — their first film together since making 1995’s “Heat.”
The movie also stars
The Pakistani Army has been given orders to retaliate against any unilateral strike by the Afghanistan-based US troops inside the country.
Army Spokesman Maj Gen Athar Abbas confirmed the orders in a brief interview with Geo News on late Thursday night.
The
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev says he will not accept military action or new sanctions against Iran over its nuclear activities.
“We should not take any unilateral steps. It is not acceptable to opt for a military scenario. It would be dangerous,”
As the world marks the seventh anniversary of 9/11, some European experts say security improvements in the US have been undercut by fairly basic mistakes. Among the remedies is more trust in America’s laws and allies.
Seven years after the attacks
David Miliband has allegedly come in for a rather undiplomatic tongue-lashing from his Russian counterpart.
The Foreign Secretary was apparently given a furious dressing down by Sergei Lavrov over the telephone.
Mr Miliband’s criticism of Russia’s recent incursion into Georgia is believed
PIETERMARITZBURG, South Africa - A South African judge ruled Friday that prosecutors were wrong to charge ANC President Jacob Zuma with corruption, effectively clearing way for the 66-year-old former freedom fighter to become the country’s next president.
Judge Chris Nicholson’s ruling
Thailand’s political turmoil deepened Friday when the ruling coalition failed to turn up to parliament to reelect leader Samak Sundaravej as prime minister.
Lawmakers from the six-party coalition did not attend an emergency session of parliament called to choose a prime minister, three days after a court stripped Samak of power for accepting payments for hosting
Feeds