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The Grand Turk

The president

2015-09-24

[Hurriyet Daily News] The position of the president has been causing fierce debate for a while. There is also a boom in the number of investigations launched on charges of insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ... Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi but they voted him back in so they deserve him... . Most recently, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu made a call to opposition leaders that consisted of a number of points: issuing a joint declaration against terror, maintaining decorum during election campaigns and respecting the privacy of the family. Davutoglu's fourth item in his call is to keep President Recep Tayyip Erdogan out of the political debate, but the opposition did not accept this one. The chair of the Republican People's Party (CHP), Kemal Kilicdaroglu, said they had long since adopted the first three items, adding that they would agree to the fourth item only if Erdogan maintained constitutionally required impartiality. It is a matter that needs significant attention that when the first three items are easily agreed upon, there is a disagreement when the subject is the president. Heads of states, kings or presidents who represent the state and the unity and the honor of the nation require special respect. There are nice practices supporting this; for instance, when they enter a hall, everybody stands up. His or her movements are accompanied by ceremonial gestures to a great extent. He or she has his or her own special seal. They have restricted powers but theirs is the highest position. For these reasons, in all modern penal codes, there are special arrangements and sanctions to protect presidents from insults. While the rule of law maintains the honor of the presidents in penal codes and in ceremonies this way, there are also commitments in constitutions and practices on their part so that they remain impartial, non-partisan, avoid political debates and thus represent the unity of the nation. As Davutoglu said, the president should be "kept out of political debates" but on the other side of the coin, the president has a responsibility to keep out of political debates. Except for extraordinary periods in our history, it was only our 10th president, Ahmet Necdet Sezer, who was in the middle of debates causing very fierce criticisms because of his discriminatory approach to the headscarf issue and because he triggered an economic crisis by insulting Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit. This was included in the rulings of the Supreme Court of Appeals. Their ruling at their General Assembly on Nov. 3, 2009, is not only a legal document but it is at the same time a historical document. A writer's severe comments about Sezer were regarded as an "insult" by the majority of the high court, while opposing members said that even if they were about the president, the expressions could not be regarded as a crime despite their irritating style and offensiveness. (Decision No: 2009/253) Leaving aside legal details, just as respectful expressions should be used about presidents in terms of politics, it is also a requirement that presidents make efforts to earn the respect of the core of a society. The esteemed Erdogan said he would be a "different president." Every president has different features. The personal characteristics of presidents and how they were elected do not change the constitutional status of the position. Erdogan's campaigning in favor of "his own party" in the elections, especially using the means of his presidential position, has been criticized in OSCE reports. Can it be expected from opposition parties, which were subjected to severe accusations from the president at political rallies, "to keep the president out of political debates?" Insulting the president cannot be accepted, but shouldn't the president abandon behaviors that elicit a reaction? If we can do all of these, if we all abide by the rules and practices, then polarization will decrease, a culture of conciliation will develop and our country will be better managed.

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Europe

Gov't to present bills vetoed by Sezer for Gül's approval

2007-08-29

With the election of Abdullah Gül as the 11th president of the Turkish republic, the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) has found an opportunity to compensate for the damage done by the incompatibility of the government with former President Ahmet Necdet Sezer. The AK Party will now face no obstacles in passing the bills which previously vetoed by Sezer in the 22nd legislative term of Parliament. Among these vetoed bills is the constitutional amendment known as 2B, which would allow the sale of former forest land that the ruling AK Party sees as a source as much as $25 billion income. The government argued that the passage of this bill would make the Turkish economy more resistant to external shocks. The bill on foundations, which allows for the returning of previously confiscated property of minority foundations; the ombudsman bill; the public administration bill; the oil bill; the bill on the Higher Education Board (YÖK); and the bill on local administration are also among those the AK Party is expecting to pass in the new president's term. The AK Party's parliamentary group decided to rush these bills to the agenda of Parliament immediately after Gül's election as President. The AK Party plans to keep Parliament open until Oct. 1 after the government is established. The official opening of Parliament was originally scheduled for Oct. 1, but the AK Party will use this extra time for the passage of the previously vetoed bills, particularly those on the Court of Accounts, on foundations and on the ombudsman, taking into consideration the EU Progress Report to be published on Oct. 21.

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Europe

Gul Elected Turkey's President

2007-08-28

Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul was elected Turkey's first president with an Islamist past, risking fresh tensions with the army over religion's role in government. Gul beat two opponents in a third round of balloting at parliament in Ankara today, Parliamentary Speaker Koksal Toptan told lawmakers. The former Islamic Development Bank economist got 339 votes, 63 more than the simple majority required. Gul will take the oath for his seven-year term later today. Turkey's military, which has ousted four governments since 1960, has clashed with Gul and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan over the separation of mosque and state. The generals blocked Gul's first run for president in April, forcing an early general election, when they warned that he might undermine the secular order established in Turkey eight decades ago after the Ottoman Empire collapsed. ``People are worried that Erdogan's government is getting control of all levers of power,'' Ilter Turkmen, who served as foreign minister after a military coup in 1980, said in an interview. ``I am worried that there will now be continuous tension between the army and the government, and the military could make Gul's life miserable.'' The head of the army, General Yasar Buyukanit, repeated the military's warning to the government on secularism in a statement yesterday to mark Victory Day on Aug. 30. The military is determined to stop ``sneaky plans aimed at removing the republic's achievements,'' Buyukanit said. Limited Role The European Union, considering Turkey's membership application, has said Turkey should reduce the army's role in politics. Buyukanit leads the second-largest standing army in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization after the U.S. military. The army says secularism must be preserved to keep Turkey on its European path and away from the influence of Islamic states in the neighboring Middle East. Gul has led Turkey's EU membership talks since negotiations began in October 2005. Gul ``should enter into a dialogue with his critics without delay, so he can be recognized as a president for all Turks,'' EU parliament member Joost Lagendijk said in an e-mailed statement, praising Gul's record as foreign minister. European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso called on Turkey to ``give fresh, immediate and positive impetus'' to EU membership talks. Erdogan renominated Gul for the presidency after cementing his hold on power in the July 22 general election, when Justice won 47 percent of the vote -- the biggest share for any party since 1965. Islamist Past Gul, 56, and Erdogan, 53, both belonged to the Welfare Party that was ousted from power in 1997 by a military-led public campaign and later banned by the Constitutional Court for mixing Islam with politics. Welfare advocated closer relations with Libya and Iran, accused Western nations of immorality and encouraged women to wear Islamic-style headscarves. As president, Gul will be required to approve or veto government legislation. Should he give the green light to steps such as lifting curbs on the wearing of headscarves by Muslim women in government buildings, it might renew tensions with the army. The military demands unwavering loyalty to the secular code of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, Turkey's founder. The outgoing president, Ahmet Necdet Sezer, is an ally of the military who was chief judge of the Constitutional Court when Welfare was shut down. He used his veto to block measures put forward by Erdogan in his first term to make adultery punishable by jail and allowing trainee clergymen to study at university. Military Focus The president is of particular importance to Turkey's military because he is their commander in chief. In addition to veto powers over laws passed by parliament, the head of state also appoints top judges and bureaucrats. Gul ``is going to be walking a tightrope,'' said Wolfango Piccoli, an analyst at Eurasia Group in London. ``He doesn't have much room for maneuver.'' The military will expect Gul to honor pledges made over the past two weeks to protect Turkey's secular ideology and remain above party politics. Those promises won him support from Turkey's biggest business groups and unions. A confrontation with the military under the new president might not be far away. Erdogan told reporters he plans to ask Gul to approve his new Cabinet tomorrow. Erdogan may then request that Gul approve a backlog of appointments to the bureaucracy rejected by Sezer that stirred trouble with the army. Many of the recruits are pious Muslims. Market Conditions For investors, the question of whether Gul can avoid a clash with the military has gained in importance because of current global market conditions, said Tolga Ediz, an emerging-markets strategist at Lehman Brothers in London. ``We think that Mr. Gul's action during his first few months in office -- the time he spends scrutinizing legislation, the care he takes in appointments, the tone he takes in speeches -- will contain critical signals,'' Ediz said. ``He might find himself the object of attack as political stability disintegrates.'' Tensions with the army may also resurface if Gul breaks with tradition and invites his wife, Hayrunnisa, who wears a headscarf, along with other devout wives of Justice party deputies to state receptions. Gul worked as an economist at the Islamic Development Bank in Saudi Arabia between 1983 and 1991. He returned to Turkey to become a lawmaker for Welfare, which headed a coalition government in 1995. Erdogan and Gul formed the Justice party in 2001.

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Europe

Turkish opposition compromises on president

2007-07-11

Turkey’s main opposition party on Tuesday agreed to an offer by Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan to seek a compromise candidate to elect as the next head of state after months of wrangling. The ruling Islamist-rooted AK Party lost a battle with the secular elite, including opposition parties, generals and senior judges, to have its candidate, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, elected in parliament in May, triggering a political crisis. Parliament has now postponed the presidential contest until after a parliamentary election on July 22. “The prime minister’s words about compromise are a positive development ... We should find a candidate that could be supported by politicians, society and the armed forces,” Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal told leading Hurriyet newspaper in an interview published on Tuesday. The CHP successfully blocked the appointment of Gul on the grounds that the party had not been consulted over the AK Party’s candidate and over concerns about Gul’s Islamist past. Ahmet Necdet Sezer, a staunch secularist and frequent critic of the government, remains in office until a new president is elected. “The election of the president has greatly divided the people. We should select someone who has been outside of politics for a period,” Baykal said.

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Europe

Turkish president calls referendum on reforms

2007-06-16

Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer on Friday called a referendum on government-backed plans to have the head of state elected directly by the people instead of by parliament. In a statement posted on the presidential website, his office said Sezer would also ask the Constitutional Court to rule on certain objections he has regarding the reforms. The statement did not say what these objections were. Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan’s Islamist-rooted government introduced the reform plans after opposition parties, top judges and the army managed to derail its bid to have Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul elected president in a vote in parliament. The crisis has also forced Erdogan to bring forward a parliamentary election from November to July 22. Erdogan says allowing the Turkish people directly to elect the president instead of lawmakers will bolster Turkish democracy. But his critics say the move will upset delicate checks and balances in Turkey’s constitution. Sezer, a stern secularist critic of the government, vetoed the reform plans in May but he does not have the right to veto laws a second time. He had just two options — to sign them straight into law or to call a referendum on the reforms. Under current constitutional arrangements, the referendum cannot be held before October, but the government is trying to shorten the period to allow it to take place on July 22, when Turks are due to elect a new parliament. The Constitutional Court is expected to rule next week on an appeal from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) that would annul the government’s reforms on a technical voting irregularity.

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Europe

Turkey MPs back reforms package

2007-06-01

The Turkish parliament has backed a package of constitutional reforms that will allow the president to be elected by by popular vote. It was the second time that the bill had been voted on after Ahmet Necdet Sezer, the outgoing president, rejected it last week. On Thursday, the amendments received the support of 370 deputies in the 550-seat house, which is dominated by the Justice and Development Party (AKP) of Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the prime minister. At present, parliament elects the head of state and Erdgoan says the changes will improve democracy. The bill now returns to Sezer for signing. He cannot veto the amendments a second time but can put them to a referendum. Sezer said last week that the haste with which the reforms were introduced would lead to "a deviation from the parliamentary system" and "create far-reaching, irreparable problems".

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Europe

Turkey to elect president by popular vote

2007-05-11

ANKARA - Turkish lawmakers on Thursday voted for a constitutional amendment to elect the president by popular vote, the key provision in a package of electoral reforms that still needs to be approved in its entirety. A total of 37O legislators in the 550-seat house voted in favour of the amendment to change the current system of election by parliament, while one voted against it. An overwhelming number of lawmakers also voted in favour of an amendment authorising the Higher Electoral Board to organise the popular vote. Both measures are part of a set of major constitutional amendments proposed by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) to resolve a deadlock in parliament on who will be the country’s next head of state. The whole package needs to be adopted by parliament before being sent to President Ahmet Necdet Sezer for approval.

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Europe

Turkish parliament cancels presidential election

2007-05-10

Turkey's parliament officially halted on Wednesday a presidential election process that triggered a major political crisis and forced the Islamist-rooted government to call early national polls. The parliament accepted Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul's petition to withdraw from the presidential contest, in which he had been the sole candidate. Gul's withdrawal became inevitable after he failed to win enough backing from the assembly in two rounds of voting. "As there is no presidential candidate, there is no possibility of electing a president. For this reason, the voting has been cancelled," parliament's deputy speaker Nevzat Pakdil told the chamber in televised remarks. A new parliament will now choose a president after the July 22 general election. President Ahmet Necdet Sezer, who had been due to retire on May 16, will stay on as interim head of state until his successor can be chosen. Turkey's parliament gave initial approval on Monday to a major constitutional amendment to make the presidency a popularly elected post. The ruling AK Party moved the reforms after secularist opposition parties boycotted a parliamentary vote and prevented Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul becoming president. The secularist establishment fears AK seeks the presidency to press a secret Islamist agenda, a charge the government denies.

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Afghanistan

Islamabad, Kabul vow to fight terror

2007-05-01

Afghanistan and Pakistan agreed here on Monday to coordinate efforts against terrorism and boost confidence-building measures aimed at easing tensions between the neighbours. “We decided to reconcile our differences... I can say it’s a new beginning,” President Gen Pervez Musharraf told NTV television after talks with Afghan President Hamid Karzai. They agreed to “deny sanctuary, training and financing to terrorists and to elements involved in subversive and anti-state activities in each other’s countries,” according to a joint statement – dubbed the Ankara Declaration - issued after the talks. They pledged “to initiate immediate action on specific intelligence exchanges” as part of their commitment, it said. The statement said the two leaders were also concerned about “the alarming increase in poppy cultivation in Afghanistan” and called for efforts to combat drug trafficking, which they said was linked to terrorism. They said they would work together to help the “orderly repatriation” of Afghan refugees from Pakistan. The two leaders agreed to set up a three-way committee of high-level officials, including Turks, to monitor progress on bilateral issues and boost confidence-building measures between their countries, the declaration said. “This accord is an important step towards achieving concrete cooperation... between Afghanistan and Pakistan,” Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer told reporters. Musharraf and Karzai did not shake hands as they appeared before the media or take questions. They welcomed the idea of meeting again in Turkey in either later this year or early in 2008, Sezer said.

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Europe

Erodgan says he is not interested in presidency

2007-04-15

Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan was quoted on Friday as saying he had no fixation on becoming president amid rising tensions between staunch secularists and the ruling AK Party over next month's election. "I have no insistence on the (presidential) palace. I have no insistence on becoming president ... My insistence is that this country be a place where its citizens live in peace," he was quoted in Radikal newspaper as saying. Turkey's powerful secular elite, including army generals and judges, are worried that Erdogan, a former Islamist, will take the top job and undermine the strict division between state and religion -- principles dating back to the foundation of the republic by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. Erdogan's ruling AK Party is expected to name its candidate next Wednesday. As the party has a big majority in parliament,its candidate is virtually certain to become president once the staunchly secularist incumbent Ahmet Necdet Sezer's term ends. Erdogan, Turkey's most popular politician who has presided over strong economic growth and the launch of European Union entry talks, denies claims that he has an Islamist agenda. The head of the powerful military, General Yasar Buyukanit, issued a veiled warning to the ruling AK Party on Thursday,saying the next head of state should be a faithful follower of the country's secular order. "We hope the next president will be somebody genuinely bound by the basic values of the republic, including secularism, not somebody who just pays lip service to them," Buyukanit told a rare news conference.

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Europe

Massive anti-Islamofascism rally in Turkey

2007-04-14

AP story. Dunno if any of these people exist. Chanting secularist slogans and waving Turkish flags, more than 300,000 people from all over Turkey rallied Saturday to discourage Prime Minister Reacherp Yippy Dogman Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a conservative with an Islamist political past present, and future, from running for the presidency. The demonstrators marched to the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of modern secular Turkey in 1923, transforming the normally hushed venue into an unprecedented demonstration ground. "Turkey is secular, it will remain secular", "The presidency's roads are closed to Sharia (Islamic law)", "An imam cannot become a president", they chanted, reflecting concerns that Erdogan and his Justice and Devlopment Party (AKP) are not truly committed to the mainly Muslim nation's secular system. The crowd broke into wild applause at the changing of the guard of honour. "The nation is proud of you," they chanted to the soldiers, demonstrating support for the army, which has carried out three coups — in 1960, 1971 and 1980 — and in 1997 forced from power Turkey's first Islamist-led government, to which many AKP members belonged. Erdogan has yet to say whether or not he will run for the presidency when the AKP-dominated parliament elects a successor to the staunchly secularist Ahmet Necdet Sezer next month. The AKP has pledged commitment to secularism and carried out a series of democracy reforms to boost Turkey's bid to join the European Union. That taqiyya thing again. Actually, the more savage and Islamic you are, the more like most of Europe will give you anything you want. Yet, the secular establishment, including the powerful army, remains sceptical of Erdogan's avowed rejection of his radical Islamist past. His government has made unsuccessful attempts to criminalise adultery, restrict alcohol-serving places to special zones and ease university access for graduates of high schools training imams. Saturday's demonstration began with a meeting on Ankara's sprawling Tandogan Square, organised by non-governmental groups, led by the Association of Ataturk Thought. The demonstrators flooded into the capital in packed buses, trains and planes from all over Turkey, filling four major arteries for a length of several kilometres (miles) as they marched to the venue under the discreetly watchful eye of a 10,000-strong police presence. Police estimated the crowd at more than 300,000, while organisers said one million people joined the rally. Deniz Baykal, chairman of the social-democratic main opposition Republican People's Party, and leaders of several smaller parties were among the crowd. The demonstrators carried placards reading, "Democracy does not mean tolerating reaction," and "Cankaya (site of the presidential palace in Ankara) will not be home to (religious) sheikhs and brotherhoods." "Respect faith, reject reaction," another banner read. Thanks to its two-third parliamentary majority, the AKP can easily elect the candidate of its choice. Candidacies can be submitted from Monday morning to midnight on April 25, and many believe Erdogan will apply for the country's top job. "Legally, he can" become president, wrote columnist Can Dundar Saturday in the liberal daily Milliyet. "Politically, he shouldn't. In fact, he will." "They want to slowly transform Turkey into Iran or Saudi Arabia," retired teacher Mehlika Erecekler, 44, told AFP at Tandogan Square, "but they can't because they're afraid of the army. We support the army." Another demonstrator, Ayla Aysel, 66, said: "I've seen my share of coups in Turkey and every coup put Turkey back by 10 years. But if Erdogan becomes president, it will put Turkey back by 100 years." "God preserve us from Sharia," she added. Great line, especially from a secularist. Many oppose the idea of Erdogan's wife Emine, who wears the Islamic headscarf hated by most secularists as a symbol of religion in politics, becoming Turkey's first lady and one headscarf-wearing demonstrator agreed. "I don't want Erdogan to become president because he exploits our religion, he exploits the headscarf," Durdu Kuran, a 41-year-old agricultural worker from the southern town of Finike, said. Oh, and the formatting doesn't show in Preview mode in FF. I'm flying blind here.

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Europe

Sezer says Turkey's secular system under 'unprecedented threat'

2007-04-14

Outgoing President Ahmet Necdet Sezer warned Friday that Turkey's secular system is under "unprecedented threat" from foreign and local forces who also want to weaken the staunchly secularist military. "Turkey's political regime today faces a threat unprecedented since the foundation of the Republic" in 1923, Sezer, a committed secularist whose term expires in May, told a military academy here in a speech released by his office. "Domestic and foreign forces with a common objective are acting together on this issue," he said, without giving names. I'm keeping an eye on the Embassy of Turkey. There's a statue of Ataturk in the courtyard. When the statue comes down, the Ottomans will ride to arms again... Attempts at weakening the secular system had increased over the past 15-20 years, Sezer said. He highlighted particularly increased opposition to a ban on the Islamic headscarf in public offices and universities and what he described as efforts to "install" graduates of religious schools and Islamic sect members at "all state levels." Hailing the military as the "protector and guarantor of the secular Republic," Sezer said the army had become the target of "internal and foreign forces" seeking to "erode its credibility and make it inefficient." At least part of Sezer's criticism appeared aimed at Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government, the offshoot of a now-banned Islamist party which the army forced from power in 1997. His warnings came amid tensions in Ankara over Erdogan's presumed intention to succeed Sezer when the parliament elects a new president next month. Erdogan's Justice and Development Party (AKP) can easily elect the candidate of its choice thanks to a strong parliamentary majority. It says it will announce its candidate after the application period starts Monday. The AKP has disowned its roots, pledged commitment to secularism and carried out a series of democracy reforms to boost Turkey's bid to join the European Union. Yet, it has often come under fire for still pursuing Islamist ambitions. The party, most of whose members are practising Muslims, is opposed to the headscarf ban but has failed to abolish it, wary of the secularist elite. It has made unsuccessful attempts to criminalise adultery, restrict alcohol-serving places to special zones outside urban centres and ease university access for graduates of high schools training Muslim preachers. Sezer has sent back to parliament several laws he deemed breaches of secularism and often blocked the appointment of officials he saw as Islamist government cronies. AKP members, backed by liberals, say the interpretation of secularism in Turkey is too restrictive and infringes on religious freedoms and democracy. In his lengthy speech, Sezer also argued that foreign forces wanted to turn Turkey into a "moderate Islamic republic" under the guise of encouraging democratisation. "The moderate Islamic model can mean advancement for other countries whic have adopted Islam, but for the Turkish Republic it is ... a reactionary model," he said. "Turkey can be a model for the region only as a secular, democratic state," he said, warning that "moderate Islam will inevitably turn into radical Islam."

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