Turkish Politics |
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Turkey orders trial of ruling party
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1. |
31 Mar 2008 Mon 05:55 pm |
Turkey's highest court has agreed to hear a case calling for a ban on the ruling ruling Justice and Development party (AKP).
The 11-member Constitutional Court said on Monday it had decided to hear the full case for shutting down the AKP on grounds that it is trying to scrap secular principles enshrined in the country's constitution.
Osman Paksut, the court's deputy chairman, said the arguments were discussed and the decision was unanimous.
Abdurrahman Yalcinkaya, chief prosecutor of the High Court of Appeals, asked on March 14 for the AKP to be shut down, accusing it of being a focal point of "anti-secular activities".
The court closed two political parties deemed to be anti-secular in 1998 and 2001.
Yalcinkaya asked the court to bar 71 people, including Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the prime minister, and Abdullah Gul, the president, from politics for five years.
The judges on Monday ruled in a majority vote that Gul, who left the AKP when he was elected head of state in August, should be included in the trial.
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/C7F23347-766D-4AFE-9E9C-3AE9F46231CC.htm
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2. |
31 Mar 2008 Mon 10:40 pm |
Wow, this is really hot! A ruling party to be closed down and the president and prime minister to be tried as acting against the constitution.. I'm quite happy that there seems to be a system of checks and balances! I'm really curious what will happen with this.
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01 Apr 2008 Tue 04:32 am |
http://www.thenewanatolian.com/opinion-31857.html
To some, it appears all but certain that Erdoğan will be banned from politics for the 2nd time in his career. All the judges that are deciding the case appear to be firm Kemalists.
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4. |
01 Apr 2008 Tue 05:24 pm |
It is actually going to be a very interesting legal case to follow. As far as constitutional cases go, this will be a good one to watch...can't wait to see what happens.
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5. |
01 Apr 2008 Tue 05:51 pm |
Based on the constitution, they court has no choice but to ban AK Parti. Will the Supreme Court then also be accused of being part of Deep State?
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01 Apr 2008 Tue 06:02 pm |
Quoting KeithL: Based on the constitution, they court has no choice but to ban AK Parti. Will the Supreme Court then also be accused of being part of Deep State? |
Exactly, Keith...it's going to be very interesting to see. I am left wondering why it has taken so long to bring this to supreme court? It's a brilliant legal arguement!
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7. |
01 Apr 2008 Tue 06:07 pm |
I think they wanted to wait and give AK Parti some time to "hang themselves", headscarve issue, etc.
They needed to collect evidence of how AK Parti is reversing laws against the constitution and not just base the decision on the party's past Islamic government agenda.
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01 Apr 2008 Tue 08:15 pm |
If AKP will actually be closed, I'm worried about what will happen..AKP being the 'least bad' party...
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01 Apr 2008 Tue 09:05 pm |
Quoting KeithL: Based on the constitution, they court has no choice but to ban AK Parti. |
What exactly does it say in the constitution?
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01 Apr 2008 Tue 09:43 pm |
Quoting Deli_kizin: Quoting KeithL: Based on the constitution, they court has no choice but to ban AK Parti. |
What exactly does it say in the constitution? |
Part 1, Article 2. "The Republic of Turkey is a democratic, SECULAR and social state governed by the rule of law; bearing in mind the concepts of public peace, national solidarity and justice; respecting human rights; loyal to the nationalism of Atatürk, and based on the fundamental tenets set forth in the Preamble"
I think this is where the Kemalists and the AK Parti supporters begin to part ways.
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