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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 001074 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR INR/R/MR, EUR/SE, EUR/PD, NEA/PD, DRL 
JCS PASS J-5/CDR S. WRIGHT 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OPRC KMDR TU
SUBJECT: ANKARA MEDIA REACTION REPORT 
TUESDAY, JUNE 10, 2008 
 
 
In Today's Papers 
 
AKP's Iyimaya: Parliament Should Suspend Constitutional Court 
Ruling 
All papers report AKP member Ahmet Iyimaya, head of parliament's 
justice committee, has proposed suspending the Constitutional 
Court's headscarf ruling, saying the court "overstepped its 
authority and violated the constitution."  In "AKP Seeking Ways to 
Stop the Constitutional Court," liberal Radikal reports Iyimaya has 
offered to pass constitutional reforms which would empower the 
parliament to suspend the rulings of the Constitutional Court.  In a 
written statement he released Monday, Iyimaya said the decision of 
the Constitutional Court on the headscarf reforms was an indication 
of a "Constitutional Court crisis" in Turkey.  He accused the Court 
of undermining the legislative powers of the parliament.  According 
to Iyimaya's proposal, once a Constitutional Court decision is 
annulled by the parliament, the Court will not be able to reconsider 
the issue for five years. 
 
Opposition CHP deputy group chief Hakki Suha Okay responded to the 
proposal by saying the AKP was trying to "seize the control of the 
judiciary," adding sarcastically that the AKP should have proposed 
the abolishment of the Constitutional Court as well.  Opposition MHP 
deputy chair Mehmet Ekici warned, "The proposal may pave the way for 
giving parliament the power to control judicial decisions." 
Pro-Kurdish DTP lawmaker Hasip Kaplan said Turkey needed a new 
constitution that included judicial reforms. 
 
Prime Minister Erdogan is expected to break his five-day silence at 
his party group meeting in parliament today.  Erdogan has not spoken 
publicly since last week's Constitutional Court decision regarding 
headscarf reforms.  Erdogan is expected to unveil his new strategy 
in today's AKP party meeting.  Papers speculate Erdogan will wait 
for the outcome of the closure case, propose early elections, or opt 
for constitutional reforms.  Papers expect Erdogan to stress today 
that the court ruling targets not only the AKP, but the entire 
parliament, and that the problem should be resolved in the 
parliament.  Leftist Taraf comments Erdogan was not likely to give 
up his "exaggerated optimism" that the AKP would not be closed.  A 
column in mainstream Vatan says Erdogan could respond strongly to 
the closure case in his address to the AKP group today, but was not 
likely to "openly confront the regime." 
 
 
EDITORIAL OPINION:  The Constitutional Court Decision Aftermath 
 
"On The Subject Of Ignoring This..." 
Erdal Safak wrote in mainstream Sabah (6/10): "In democracies, 
sovereignty solely belongs to the people.  In Turkey, this 
fundamental right was taken from the people by military coups in 
1960 and 1980, respectively.  Some legal experts today argue that 
the Constitutional Court's decision regarding turban resembles such 
previous interventions.  During last year's presidential elections, 
the Constitutional Court became a controversial institution due to 
its politically motivated decision to require a quorum.  Since then, 
the Court's status, as well as the system of checks and balances, is 
up for debate.  The recent proposal by a ruling AKP lawmaker brings 
a new dimension to the current debate.  His offer includes a 
constitutional amendment to suspend the Court's decision.  AKP 
members believe that, given the current situation, the political 
system should enhance parliament's legislative and representative 
functions.  However, suspending the Court's decision will be an 
intervention against the judiciary, and this will further damage the 
system of checks and balances.  It seems the debates will never come 
to an end until a comprehensive constitutional change is achieved 
through a vast consensus.  We have to resolve this debate as quickly 
as possible within the confines of a legitimate and a 
consensus-seeking process." 
 
"The Main Court of Suspicions" 
 
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Tamer Korkmaz wrote in Islamist leaning Yeni Safak (6/10):  "It is 
obvious that the Constitutional Court has violated more than one 
article of the Constitution, and by annulling the parliament's 
decision it has exceeded its mandate.  Given the current approach, 
the Court from now on is capable of taking over parliament's role 
because every amendment can be reviewed by the Constitutional Court. 
  In practice, this can be called a judicial coup and nothing else. 
It is not about the supremacy of law; it is all about undertaking a 
coup by violating the law.  The supporters of the status quo are no 
longer capable of arranging a military coup, and therefore they have 
intensified their efforts to block a civilian constitutional review 
process.  When CHP leader Baykal warned against changing the 
constitution with the argument that the time and climate is not 
right, he in fact was expressing the status quo's opinion.  A 
civilian constitution is what Turkey needs and it is going to happen 
regardless of efforts to the contrary." 
 
Toptan: Senate Could Filter Referrals to Constitutional Court 
All papers report Parliament Speaker Koksal Toptan said Monday he 
did not understand why he was being "punched from the left to the 
right" for suggesting a bi-chamber parliament in order to prevent 
future political crises caused by high court decisions.  Toptan said 
the Constitutional Court's workload was excessive. "I think the 
fewer conflicts referred to them, the better it would be.  I'm 
merely suggesting minimizing the necessity of taking issues to the 
court.  The senate could be a filter on the path leading to the 
Constitutional Court." 
 
Over the weekend, Toptan suggested Turkey discuss drafting a new 
constitution and adding a senate chamber to Parliament.  He also 
said he planned to bring together all political party leaders to 
discuss the Constitutional Court decision on turban reforms. 
 
Cicek: Senate Not on Our Agenda 
All papers report government spokesman Cemil Cicek said 
Parliamentary Speaker Koksal Toptan's proposal to create a senate 
was not on the government's agenda at the moment.   According to 
Cicek, "The government expected the parliament speaker to criticize 
the judiciary's violation of parliamentary authority."  Cicek talked 
to the press after a cabinet meeting Monday and said, "This is not a 
problem for the AKP alone, it is a question of the principle of the 
separation of powers," and, "There has been an infringement against 
the authority of parliament.  Parliament's area of responsibility 
has been narrowed." In addition, Cicek noted, "Before we consider a 
senate proposal, we first need to address the broader questions 
regarding Turkey's democracy."  Cicek dismissed the suggestion that 
there had been any disagreement with the parliament speaker. 
 
Kurdish Families Are Going to The European Court of Human Rights 
Sabah, Zaman, Cumhuriyet:  The London-based Kurdish Human Rights 
Project (KHRP) will file a complaint with the European Court of 
Human Rights regarding the military operations Turkey launched 
against the PKK in northern Iraq earlier this year. Reportedly, KHRP 
will speak on behalf of Iraqi villagers who claim they lost their 
homes during the operations and thus deserve compensation from 
Turkey.  KHRP director Kerim Yildiz argued that there were civilian 
deaths during the Turkish bombardment, which damaged many houses and 
demolished and agricultural lands." 
 
Tuzla Workers Preparing for Strike 
Sabah, Taraf, Bugun, Star and others:  During the funeral of a 
worker who died in an accident at Tuzla shipyard on Sunday, labor 
unions announced that shipyard workers will strike on June 16 to 
protest unsafe working conditions at the shipyard.  One union member 
said "Almost every day one of us dies at the shipyard.  On the 16th 
we will say 'Instead of killing us one by one, here we are, kill all 
of us together.'  This is the first time in the world that workers 
are going on strike so they will not have to die."  Leftist Taraf 
reports that, due to the very slow judicial process, most of the 
time families of the victims prefer to take compensation offered by 
 
ANKARA 00001074  003 OF 003 
 
 
the employers (not more than 60 thousand YTL) instead of waiting for 
the completion of their court cases. 
 
TV News: 
CNN Turk 
 
Domestic News 
 
- President Abdullah Gul will visit Croatia on June 10-12 to meet 
President Stjepan Mesic, the Croatian Parliament Speaker and the 
Prime Minister. 
 
- A parliamentary delegation from Turkish Cyprus traveled to 
Brussels on Monday to attend European Parliament meetings. 
 
- Turk Telekom director Paul Doany said the number of ADSL users in 
Turkey was expected to climb to 6 million by the end of the year. 
 
- A gendarme soldier died when he stepped on a PKK-laid land mine in 
Semdili town of Hakkari.  Also, three PKK members were killed in 
clashes with Turkish security forces in the Munzur valley of 
Tunceli. 
 
International News 
 
- The second round of indirect peace talks between Israel and Syria 
will be held this week in Istanbul. 
 
- Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said Russia welcomes 
dialogue between the two sides in Cyprus and will actively support 
efforts aimed at its successful completion. 
 
- President Bush is in Slovenia for an EU-US summit on climate 
change, trade and foreign policy. 
 
WILSON