AK Party looks to independents, CHP to overcome DTP testimony crisis

PM Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced on Thursday that his party was ready for a constitutional amendment and implied that he may ask opposition parties for their support.

“If they are ready, we can do it together. We can change the Constitution; we can implement new laws. We can do whatever is necessary,” remarked the prime minister.

The Ankara 11th High Criminal Court ruled in two decisions on Tuesday and Wednesday to authorize the use of police to bring DTP parliamentary group deputy leader Selahattin Demirtaş, the party's deputy chairwoman, Emine Ayna, and DTP İstanbul deputy Sebahat Tuncel to a judicial hearing slated for Dec. 29.

Pundits worry that using police force to bring the deputies to court might terminate the government's ongoing democratization package, devised to peacefully solve the country's long-standing Kurdish question.

The AK Party and the DTP have 359 deputies in Parliament. The ruling party seeks to garner the support of at least 367 deputies to amend Articles 14 and 83 of the Constitution. The prime minister expressed concern that the opposition parties may take constitutional amendments to the Constitutional Court for nullification if they are passed with the support of fewer than 367 deputies.

Article 14, which prohibits the abuse of fundamental rights and freedoms, criminalizes the aim of violating the indivisible integrity of the state with its territory and nation. Article 83 stipulates that a deputy who is alleged to have committed an offense before or after his or her election shall not be arrested, interrogated, detained or tried unless Parliament decides otherwise. “This provision shall not apply in cases where a member is caught in the act of committing a crime punishable by a severe penalty and in cases subject to Article 14 of the Constitution if an investigation has been initiated before the election,” adds the article.

The AK Party would like to amend these two articles but needs the support of at least eight other deputies. The Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) announced that its deputies would, by no means, cooperate with the ruling party for a constitutional amendment to save DTP deputies. Therefore, the AK Party hopes to win the support of 10 independent deputies in Parliament. If it does not work, the ruling party will seek the backing of the main opposition CHP.

It is not clear at the moment whether the CHP or independent deputies are willing to cooperate with the AK Party on the planned constitutional changes.

Three other options

Other than a constitutional remedy, the AK Party has three more plans to avert a possible crisis over the forced testimony of DTP deputies.

The parliamentary Justice Commission may tell the courts dealing with the cases against DTP deputies that their statements should be considered within the limits of parliamentary immunity, but the AK Party is not too warm to the idea as it may be regarded as an attempt to impair the independence of the judiciary.

As a second option, AK Party jurists proposed making an amendment to the Turkish Penal Code (TCK) to bypass Article 14 of the Constitution, but such a method faces the risk of being taken to the top court for annulment.

An appeal by DTP deputies against court decisions remains the third option for the governing party. AK Party members with a background in the law may advise DTP members to appeal the decisions, pointing to the ambiguity of related articles in the Constitution and the TCK.

The AK Party now seems to have chosen the toughest method to overcome the DTP testimony crisis. Analysts believe Prime Minister Erdoğan has two plans behind the choice. First of all, the prime minister wishes to expose once more the staunch opposition of both the CHP and the MHP against any move to improve democratic standards of Turkey.

The two parties have so far stood as an obstacle before AK Party plans to bring more democracy to the country. The attitude of the CHP and the MHP has drawn the ire of intellectuals in Turkey as well as those in Europe. The AK Party wants the European Union to see the position of the CHP and the MHP against democratization projects. Though its actions pointed to the contrary, the CHP told the union several times that it is working to improve democratic standards of Turkey.

Secondly, the AK Party seeks to end debates over parliamentary immunity. The CHP and the MHP would like to revoke the immunity of deputies, but the AK Party believes that any revocation of immunity should extend to military and civilian bureaucrats as well.

Erdoğan said he plans to send a personal letter to CHP leader Deniz Baykal today to request a meeting in which the two can discuss the government's initiative to settle the Kurdish question.

The prime minister stated he will send the letter after the AK Party congress, slated for today.

Erdoğan also criticized the CHP, whose officials expressed dislike of a speech delivered by President Abdullah Gül on Thursday on the occasion of the start of the new legislative year.

“I met the disrespect shown toward the president of the Turkish Republic with hesitation. The CHP should, first of all, make up for this discourtesy. I did not witness any similar disrespect before by those who entered Parliament through democratic means. For me, this was the most unfortunate incident that occurred under the roof of Parliament,” noted the prime minister. 

CHP deputies did not stand to welcome Gül when he entered Parliament, which most observers found disrespectful. After the president's speech, CHP leader Baykal said Gül had voiced the demands of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).