Turkish court rules against closing ruling party

Turkey’s Governing Party Avoids Ban By SEBNEM ARSU

Published: July 31, 2008
ISTANBUL — Turkey’s highest court on Wednesday ruled against closing Turkey’s ruling party but cut its state funding by half in response to charges that it threatened the country’s secular regime during its six years in power. The case had paralyzed Turkish politics since the indictment was filed in March and had moved Turkey to a final confrontation between religious and secular Turks about who will rule the nation. The indictment before the court accused the governing party, Justice and Development, known as A.K. for the initials of its Turkish name, of trying to turn Turkey, a secular democracy, into an Islamic state. The eleven judges began to deliberate on the charges on Monday. The 162-page indictment, brought by the country’s chief prosecutor, sought to close the party down and ban 71 senior members, including President Abdullah Gul and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, from politics for five years.

Speaking at a news conference broadcast from the court in Ankara, the court spokesman said the court had ruled against the charges but that it was still issuing a warning to the governing party. “There is no verdict on closure because the seven votes required by the constitution for closure were not reached,” the spokesman, Hasim Kilic, said. “However, in this ruling, a serious warning has been issued to the party, and I hope this conclusion will be evaluated and actions will be taken accordingly." With its control of the presidency, the Parliament and the government, the ruling party — led by Mr. Erdogan — has come further than any other in modern Turkey in breaking the grip of the secular establishment on power. The case called for banning the party on the grounds that it had steered Turkey, whose citizens are mostly Muslim, away from its constitutionally mandated secularism. The case was part of a broader struggle between the party, whose members are observant Muslims, and the secular elite, which includes the military and judicial systems. The party has largely defended Turkey’s secular system of government, but the indictment accused it of trying to impose Islam. “This ruling doesn’t mean that the party has been cleared of charges,” said Mithat Sancar, a law professor of Ankara University. “Cutting the party’s treasury funds means that the evidence for their anti-secular activity was there but not substantial enough to impose a ban. Therefore they warned the party to be careful in their actions to avoid closure in the future.” The indictment charged that because of Mr. Erdogan, Turkey is now seen as a ”moderate Islamic republic,” an image that it said had become the official view in the United States. It cited former Secretary of State Colin L. Powell as “having defined our country” that way, “disregarding the fact that Turkey is a secular democratic state.” Mr. Erdogan, the indictment said, had bragged that he was co-chairman of the ”Middle East Initiative,” which it called ”a U.S. project aimed at installing moderate Islamic regimes in countries.”