http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/turkish-vote-ends-military-tradition/story-e6frg6so-1225921371907
Turkish vote ends military tradition From: The Times September 14, 2010 12:00AM ISTANBUL: Turks voted to change their country's military-era constitution yesterday, giving a strong reform mandate to Recep Tayyip Erdogan amid opposition fears that the Prime Minister will use the new powers to bolster Islamism. A referendum, endorsed by 58 per cent of voters, delivered a blow to the country's militarist tradition and was seen as a vote of confidence in Mr Erdogan, a former Islamist, a year before general elections are due. "We have passed an historic threshold on the way to advanced democracy and the supremacy of law," Mr Erdogan told cheering party supporters. "The power of democracy, the power of the people's will, has been cemented today . . . Those who said 'yes' and those who said 'no' are equally winners, because advanced democracy is for everybody." The PM's Justice and Development Party had been criticised at home and abroad for losing the reformist zeal that had characterised its first term in office and secured EU candidacy for the secular Muslim country. US President Barack Obama "acknowledged the vibrancy of Turkey's democracy", shown by the high turnout, in a telephone call to Mr Erdogan, according to a White House statement. Mr Obama was calling ahead of the World Basketball Championship final, in which the US beat Turkey 81-64. The EU, meanwhile, called the amendments "a step in the right direction" for Turkey's bid to join the bloc, although it called for further reforms to ensure freedoms of speech and religion. As well as improving women's and workers' rights, making it harder to shut down political parties and limiting the jurisdiction of military courts, the constitutional changes will enable the judiciary to put the leaders of the 1980 coup on trial. Few believe that Kenan Evren, the octogenarian former general, will be hauled out of retirement and dragged into the dock. But the hitherto unthinkable idea that coup leaders should be held to account could deter others from plotting to overthrow future governments. As recently as 2007, the military intervened in national politics, opposing the candidacy for president of Abdullah Gul, Mr Erdogan's party colleague, and sparking a general election. Mr Erdogan's landslide win and Mr Gul's subsequent triumph in the presidential poll showed that the public was finally tiring of meddling from the top brass. Referendum turnout was put at 77 per cent. The bitter "no" campaign, marshalled by the Republican and Nationalist movements, fanned fears about the real intentions of the government. One advertisement suggested a vote for the constitutional amendments would lead to Turkish women having to wear the chador. "Turkey has entered a period of darkness," Nationalist Action Party leader Devlet Bahceli said said as the results came in. Related Coverage a.. Turkey acts to ease fears over Islamic ties The Australian, 2 Jul 2010 b.. Turks may turn west, not east The Australian, 8 Jun 2010 c.. Does Gaza signal Turkey's defection The Australian, 2 Jun 2010 d.. Frustrated Turkey looking beyond EU The Australian, 13 May 2010 e.. Not all tension in Turkey is West v Islam The Australian, 24 Mar 2010 [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ Post message: prole...@egroups.com Subscribe : proletar-subscr...@egroups.com Unsubscribe : proletar-unsubscr...@egroups.com List owner : proletar-ow...@egroups.com Homepage : http://proletar.8m.com/Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: proletar-dig...@yahoogroups.com proletar-fullfeatu...@yahoogroups.com <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: proletar-unsubscr...@yahoogroups.com <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
