Turkey's ruling party denies Islamism in court

04/07/2008

The ruling AKP told the Constitutional Court that it has no hidden agenda to bring Islamist rule to the country. Turkey's highest court is expected to deliver its ruling regarding the embattled party in four to five weeks.

By Ayhan Simsek for Southeast European Times -- 04/07/08

Deputy Prime Minister Cemil Çiçek told the Constitutional Court on Thursday (July 3rd) that most claims in the indictment were based on misinformation or media reports. [Getty Images]

Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) defended itself in the Constitutional Court on Thursday (July 3rd), against charges that it pursues a hidden agenda to bring Islamist rule to the secular country.

Deputy Prime Minister Cemil Cicek and senior deputy Bekir Bozdag told the country's highest court in a six-and-a-half hour-long session that the party's main aim is to further democratise the country, with respect to religion and values of the people, not push Islamisation.

On Tuesday, Chief Prosecutor Abdurrahman Yalcinkaya told the court that the AKP has become a "focal point" of activities aimed at destroying the secular character of the state. He described the possible Islamist rule as a "clear and present" danger for Turkey.

Yalcinkaya asked that the party be closed and its 71 leading figures -- including Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan -- be banned from politics for five years. In the indictment, the chief prosecutor listed various statements and policies of the AKP, which he argued were part of a broader plan to destroy the secular system and introduce Islamist rule.

Among those he highlighted were filling thousands of state positions with Islamists, banning alcohol sales in restaurants run by AKP authorities, attempts to broaden Koran courses and finally, the controversial move to allow women to wear headscarves at universities, which is generally interpreted as an ideological symbol.

Cicek told the court that most of the claims in the indictment were based on misinformation or media reports. He gave various examples of reforms initiated by the AKP. The deputy prime minister also argued that a ban of the AKP would contradict major international human rights treaties, mainly the European Convention on Human Rights, which Turkey has ratified.

Despite hundreds pages of defence by the AKP, and calls from the EU to the contrary, many analysts predict the party will be banned -- a fate met by Islamist parties in the past, including Refah Partisi and Fazilet Partisi. Unlike the AKP, however, these former Islamist parties adopted a more hard-line approach and initiated highly controversial policies. AKP describes itself not as an Islamist but as a "conservative democrat" party, and maintains a pro-EU stance.

"[Turkish citizens] don't see a clear open threat to democracy. So if the party is banned and the case will come to the [European Court of Human Rights], the court may conclude that Turkey was wrong by banning the party," Rıza Türmen, former Turkish judge at the European Court of Human Rights, told CNN Turk television. He suggests that the court send a strong warning to the party to respect the democratic and secular character of the state, rather than closing it down.

A ruling is expected in four to five weeks. At least seven of 11 judges must vote for closure for the court to shut down a political party. If the AKP is shut down, its deputies could regroup under a new party. Turkish press reports indicate that AKP officials have already begun those preparations. If Erdogan is banned from politics, he is expected to control the new party from behind the scenes.

This content was commissioned for SETimes.com