TURKISH REFERENDUM TO AMEND ITS
CONSTITUTION
Not that many of you get
to vote in this referendum (if you do and you’re there, you still have a few
minutes….), but it IS important, and, until very recently, there has been
little press coverage
If you haven’t had a
chance to look at it, last Fall I wrote what I actually believe to be a rather
important little attempt to understand the current political situation in
Turkey, which I think is extremely relevant to this current referendum: www.RickRubens.com/UA-Istanbul.htm#_Toc247697291, which was buried in an admittedly
overly long piece on the Urban Age conference in Istanbul (www.RickRubens.com/UA-Istanbul.htm ).
After sketching out a quick overview of the current political structure
of the country, I lay out my thoughts on the politics of exactly what is at
issue in this referendum—which is complex, but terribly important. One way of putting it is that it involves the
tension between the secular forces in the country and the fundamentalist
religious forces; another, however, would be that it involves the tension
between military control and civil control; yet another would be that it
involves the tension between Kemalist tradition and neo-liberal financial
forces. All of those ways of looking
at the situation are true. While I am
fully aware of the dangers of the powerful role of the military in Turkey, it
is still true that the old Kemalists (the military
and the more powerful part of the Judiciary system in the country) are
responsible for maintaining the secular nature of Turkey—whose role as one of
the most important secular Islamic nations is quite crucial in our modern
world. I, therefore, come out on the side that fears the situation is terribly
dangerous in terms of its movement toward religious fundamentalism—and that
potentially we are watching the early development of something not totally
unlike what happened in the Iranian Revolution!
Some political shifts since the Fall seem to suggest I may be
correct—not least of them being Turkey’s growing alienation from the West (and
its growing economic orientation eastward [how’s that for redundancy?]), and
its actually getting much cozier with Iran.
(You can see why I think this is both important and dangerous.)
Anyway, there is finally
an article in the NY Times this morning which I’ll include
below. BBC News had started to cover it a day or so earlier (two pieces
also included below). Nevertheless,
there has not been enough notice of this.
I recommend you all pay careful
attention to this one!
Turkey
By THE
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: September 12, 2010
Filed at 7:37 a.m. ET
The referendum on 26 amendments to a constitution that was
crafted after a 1980 military coup has become a battleground between the
Islamic-oriented government and traditional power elites that believe
Street clashes marred voting at several polling stations
in provinces with large Kurdish populations. A Kurdish party has urged
supporters to boycott the ballot, arguing that the proposed changes would not
advance the rights of the ethnic minority.
Police nationwide detained 120 people suspected of
threatening people into either boycotting the vote or casting their ballot in a
certain way, Interior Minister Besir Atalay said.
In
''From tomorrow onwards,
Voting stations close at 4 p.m. (1300 GMT, 9 a.m. EDT) in
eastern
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan voted
in
The date evoked
The civilian government says the amendments fall in line
with EU requirements for membership, partly by making the military more
accountable to civilian courts and allowing civil servants to go on strike. The
opposition, however, believes a provision that would give parliament more say
in appointing judges masks an attempt to control the courts, which have sparred
with Erdogan's camp.
The military and the court system, including the
The ruling party, whose reforms have won backing from the European
Union, says the hardline emphasis on
secularism and nationalism must be updated to incorporate democratic change,
including religious freedoms. It lost a battle in 2008 when the
If approved, the constitutional amendments would also
remove immunity from prosecution for the engineers of the 1980 coup. Kenan Evren, the military chief
who seized power and became president, is 93 and ailing.
Many Kurdish politicians said they would not vote because
the amendments do not specifically address discrimination toward the minority,
which comprises up to 20 percent of the population. Kurdish rebels announced a
suspension of attacks a month ago, but that unilateral cease-fire is due to
expire on Sept. 20.
On Sunday, in the Mediterranean city of
In the nearby town of
Police also clashed with protesters suspected of forcing
people into boycotting the vote in the southeastern
------
Associated Press writers Suzan Fraser and Ceren Kumova in
And here, the first piece from BBC News:
Q&A: Turkey
The people of
The referendum is seen
partly as a vote of confidence in Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan
What
is being decided?
Whether to endorse modifications to Turkey's current constitution, which
would make the military more accountable to civilian courts and give parliament
- the 550-seat Gran National Assembly (Buyuk Millet Meclisi) - more power to appoint judges.
The amendments would also grant civil servants the right to conclude
collective agreements and go on strike, as well as lift immunity from
prosecution for the leaders of the bloody 1980 military takeover.
If the referendum is successful, it is expected to finally dissociate
EU-aspiring
What
else is at stake?
The referendum is also seen as a vote of confidence in Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan,
who is expected to seek a third term of office in 2011.
His critics accuse his ruling Justice and Development Party, the AKP, of attempting to seize control of the judiciary as
part of a back-door Islamist coup.
The AKP says the reforms will pave the way for
a reorganisation of the high courts and help meet requirements for EU
membership.
The existing constitution, ratified in a referendum in 1982, has
frequently been criticised for allegedly being outmoded and curtailing human
rights.
The AKP sees the military, judiciary and state
bureaucracy as the last bastion of conservative secularism. They are often seen
as self-declared guardians of the legacy of the founder of the
How
many voters are taking part?
Almost 49.5 million people, out of
A survey recently conducted by the pollster PollMark
suggests that 56.2 per cent of the electorate will vote Yes, while 43.8 per
cent will vote No.
The highest number of Yes votes is likely to come from cities in Central
Anatolia, and the highest number of No votes from cities in the Marmara region,
including
What
led up to the referendum?
The package of amendments was prepared by the AKP,
which has wanted to change the constitution since it came to power in 2002.
It drew up a draft in 2007, but could not enlist the opposition's
support for it. The party then prepared a list of partial amendments, which
will be voted on in the upcoming plebiscite.
The package was passed by parliament in late April and early May 2010
with 336 votes, below the two-thirds majority necessary to pass it directly,
but enough to send it to a referendum within 60 days after the president signed
the law. President Abdullah Gul, of the AKP, signed it on 13 May 2010.
Who
are the main critics of the vote?
The CHP and MHP see the referendum as the AKP's attempt to politicise the judiciary and subordinate
it to the executive branch.
The BDP and PKK have
called for a boycott, saying the proposed constitutional reforms do not meet
Kurdish needs for a brand new constitution.
And here, the second piece from BBC News:
Erdogan criticises opponents ahead of Turkey
Recep Tayyip Erdogan: "There is a flood of disinformation and black
propaganda"
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has criticised the
tactics of his political opponents ahead of a referendum on constitutional
reform.
Speaking to the BBC ahead of Sunday's vote, Mr Erdogan
accused them of using "disinformation and black propaganda".
The proposed reforms include controversial changes to the judiciary.
A positive result is expected to help the country in its bid to join the
EU, by finally dissociating it from remnants of autocratic rule.
The present constitution was introduced in 1982 by the military.
The EU has said it sees the vote as a significant step for
Opposition parties say the changes will give the government more control
over the appointment of senior judges.
In a speech on Wednesday, Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu said Mr Erdogan was trying to seize the judiciary.
He said Mr Erdogan "lamented" being
able to appoint the president, the parliamentary speaker, governors and chiefs
of police, but not a single judge.
"'Give me the authority, Erdogan says, so
that I can also appoint judges," Mr Kilicdaroglu
said.
The BBC's Jonathan Head in
Opinion polls suggest the vote will be close.
Propaganda
war
Mr Erdogan has been travelling around
But he told the BBC the main opposition parties were deceiving voters.
"At the moment, there is a flood of disinformation and black
propaganda," he said.
Continue reading the main story
Proposed
reforms
· The
military would be more accountable to civilian courts
· Parliament would have more power to appoint judges
· Civil servants would be given the right to conclude collective
agreements and go on strike
· The
immunity from prosecution for the leaders of the bloody 1980 military takeover
would be lifted
"They claim these reforms are my personal project or a project of
my party - that claim is unfounded."
Mr Erdogan argues the reforms will make the
military-drafted constitution more democratic.
However, his critics have accused his ruling Justice and Development
Party (AKP) of trying to seize control of the
judiciary as part of a back-door Islamist coup.
The AKP has clashed repeatedly with
But Mr Erdogan told the BBC his party had
never discriminated between secular or non-secular Turks.
"We have brought services to all regions, all classes and all
ethnic groups, without any discrimination," he said.
"From a wider perspective we are the real democracy in this region
and as a democratic country we always want to do better, so with these reforms
I will bring in a more progressive democracy to our country."
He said he believed that secularism should apply to the state, not the
people.
"As in
any country, in
Return to Dead Parrot homepage.