TOP COURT SEEKS BAN ON RULING PARTY
Turkeys’ top court will hear a case calling for a ban of the ruling party. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan faces the dissolution of the Islamist based party over plans to scrap secular principles enshrined in the constitution.
The 11 member Constitutional Court voted unanimously to send the issue to court. The issue revolves around a move by the government to “lift the ban on wearing of Islamic head scarves” in universities, as well as alleged anti-secular comments by government officials.
The chief prosecutor of the High Court of Appeals, Abdurrahman Yalcinkaya, has accused the ruling Justice and Development Party of “anti-secular activities.” Yalcinkaya is asking that 71 people including the Prime Minister and President, Abdullah Gul, be banned from politics for 5 years. The government is making plans to seek a Constitutional Amendment to, in effect, give itself protection from the court’s authority. (Read – “get out of jail free card”)
Comment: further chaos in a very troubled part of the world “can’t we all just get along (:” Turkey has been seeking membership in the European Economic Union for many years. This latest instability will further complicate an already troubled bid for membership.
