Türkische Verfassungsreform in der Kritik der Opposition und der Unternehmen

Deniz Baykal, leader of n opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), warned the AKP against a possible overturning of the package by the Constitutional Court and the threat of a second closure case against the ruling party.

"If the AKP initiated such a constitutional amendments package, which is against the Constitution, and the top court agreed in this way, then they would be caught red-handed," Baykal said in an interview published in the Hürriyet daily on Monday.

"This situation doesn't remain at the innocent level of solely acting against the Constitution. It is very dangerous and wrong to persistently initiate such a move despite such a stiff warning and reaction," Baykal said, implying that the AKP may face a second closure case if it proceeds with its amendments.

TÜSİAD, the Turkish Industry & Business Association, issued a press release stating that Turkey needs a brand new Constitution. The proposed package of amendments has fundamental flaws and falls short of addressing democratic deficits, it said.

Unfortunately, the proposed constitutional reform package is not the outcome of a parliamentary consensus, the association added.

"A constitutional package that does not result from a political consensus will complicate the process of making a new constitution in the future. We expect the governing party to be open to new ideas, while the opposition ought to offer concrete proposals that will enrich the debate," TÜSİAD further stated.

EU-Turkey Joint European Parliamentary Committee Co-chair Hélène Flautre (Greens/EFA, France) was quoted by Turkish daily Zaman as saying that she supports the government's approach, which in her words involves extensive changes to ensure the rule of law and thus respond to attempts to destabilise Turkey.

"The repeated political crises threaten not only peace in Turkey but also constitute a barrier in the process of accession to the EU. I consider that the proposed reform on the table by the government may give Turkey the means to take a fundamental step towards democratisation," Flautre stated.

It woud be "misguided" for the AKP to hastily adopt a new constitution now in an attempt to ensure its own political survival, writes analyst Katinka Barysch in a position paper for the Centre for European Reform.

"Such a strategy may work, in the sense that it would prevent a 'judicial coup' against the government. But it would hardly assuage the concerns of those who suspect the AKP of using democracy as a means to pursue a hidden agenda of Islamisation," Barysch writes.

"That is why liberals in Turkey and some of Turkey's supporters in the West are calling on the government not to amend the old constitution but adopt an entirely new, more modern one. They are right that a move to make it harder to ban political parties would be more acceptable as part of a wider reform package. The AKP needs to find a way of rekindling the implicit bargain between itself and Turkey's liberals, who have grudgingly backed the party because of its modernising and pro-EU agenda but have lately become disillusioned," Barysch argues.