‘Small steps lead to big improvements in democratization’

He underlined that extra-judicial implementations make our lives difficult and that small amendments can improve many things as well as prepare the groundwork for a new constitution.

Osman Can, the co-chairman of the Democratic Judiciary Association, pointed out that Turkey should immediately work on putting together a new constitution, one that is designed not to determine the future of the country but to enable the society to design its own future. However, he added, until then legal changes can be made to ensure judicial independence.

Another intellectual, Hülya Gülbahar, the chairwoman of the Association for Education and Supporting Women Candidates (KA-DER), underlined that even a few small changes to the Law on Political Parties and the election law can do much to accelerate the country’s democratization process.

Observers outlined several changes that need to be made before a new constitution is drawn up, including changing or amending the Turkish Penal Code (TCK) and the Anti-Terror Law, establishing mechanisms to improve human rights and implementing administrative changes such as abolishing the covert Protocol on Cooperation for Security and Public Order (EMASYA), which allows operations and intelligence gathering in cities without the approval of the civilian administration.

“Since this protocol contradicts the law, it is very easy to declare it null and void,” Kardaş said, adding that once this is done, Turkey will not live as if it is governed by emergence rule.

The details of EMASYA have not been officially disclosed, but retired Gen. Çetin Doğan, one of the masterminds behind a recently revealed coup plan titled Balyoz (Sledgehammer), said the Balyoz operation was planned as part of EMASYA.

“Certain implementations, such as EMASYA, have made extra-judicial implementations appear as if they are normal. We have to change them until we design a new constitution,” Kardaş said.

EMASYA, signed by the General Staff and the Interior Ministry on July 7, 1997, empowers the military to intervene in social incidents at its own initiative. In accordance with EMASYA, the military can gather intelligence against what it terms internal threats.

The government announced that it has begun to examine EMASYA but did not say what, if anything, will be changed and when.

Kardaş also suggests changing the structure of the gendarmerie and turning it into rural police under civilian control. “There are also regulations that allow the military to declare certain areas temporary military zones. The law suggests that certain areas can be turned into military zones temporarily for the purpose of carrying out military exercises, but in implementation, some areas have been turned into permanent military zones,” Kardaş said.

One-sentence laws can go a long way

He said a single sentence, such as “The Anti-Terror Law is not to be applied to children,” can remove the stress affecting the society.

Especially in predominantly Kurdish areas, children who participate in demonstrations face being tried as adults due to regulations in the Anti-Terror Law and the TCK.

“A child throwing stones gets sentenced to eight years in prison. How can you expect these children to contribute to the future of the country? The Anti-Terror Law and the TCK violate the rights of adults, and these violations are then carried on to the children who are tried as adults. Just one sentence -- saying the Anti-Terror Law will not be applied to children -- might change a lot, and it wouldn’t be difficult to make this into a reality,” Kardaş said.

The government drafted a bill to improve the situation of those children and sent it to Parliament last year, but it has not yet made it to the agenda of the General Assembly.

Emin Aktar, chairman of the Diyarbakır Bar Association, agrees with Kardaş regarding the situation of the children. He said court decisions are handed down in the name of the nation but, due to the heavy sentences meted out to children, the conscience of the nation has been disturbed.

Aktar also suggested a few simple regulations that would go a long way to help reduce tension in the society. One example is to allow people to name their children what they want.

“In the past families were not allowed to give their children Kurdish names. There are many people in the Kurdish areas of the country who are registered under one name but who go by another. To correct this, court cases need to be filed. A law can be introduced that says, ‘Due to previous regulations in the census law, if a person is not registered under his or her actual name, s/he can correct the record by submitting an application to a census office within one year’.”

Aktar added that similar regulations can be implemented to address the names of places and geographical regions. “Such small changes might reduce tension in the society,” he says.

The government, as part of its democratization initiative, launched to solve the Kurdish question, brought the idea of the names of locations and settlements reverting to their original Kurdish names, but Interior Minister Beşir Atalay later said village names can be changed if their residents request it, though the names of larger settlements such as districts and cities will require parliamentary approval.

Aktar said new institutions such as anti-discrimination committees will be a very important step if they are effective and if they comprise representatives from civil society organizations.

The government, also as part of its democratization initiative, announced that it will establish new bodies to improve human rights. One such institution is to monitor allegations of discrimination, but a bill introducing this change is not yet ready.

“The government, however, is not discussing these bodies with civil society organizations. We don’t know who will staff this body, but we do know it will be difficult to make any such effort effective if there is no cooperation with civil society,” Aktar underlined.

Aktar, Kardaş and Gülbahar all agreed that reducing the 10 percent election threshold is necessary for further democratization and can be done before any new constitution is proposed. Under current law political parties competing in elections must win 10 percent or more of the vote to be represented in Parliament.

Gülbahar suggested that a few small changes to the election law and the Law on Political Parties, in addition to a new law to regulate campaign finances, can make a bigger impact on Turkey’s democratization. “Many things are related to campaign finances. If a candidate has to spend a large amount of money, this limits some candidates -- among them women. Also, because the costs become prohibitive, this opens up the way to corruption,” she told Sunday’s Zaman.

Gülbahar added that regulations ensuring freedom of the press and that prevent domination of the media by certain companies or interest groups will be very effective in democratizing Turkey.

Öztürk Türkdoğan from the Human Rights Association (İHD) also spoke about freedom of the press and freedom of expression. “Fifteen articles in the Anti-Terror Law and the TCK address these two areas. Reworking, to say nothing of removing, these articles will help improve the situation of freedom of the press and freedom of expression,” Türkdoğan said.

He added that the National Security Policy Document, a top-secret resolution against domestic threats drafted by the National Security Council (MGK) and approved by the Cabinet, although secret, gives the army many ways to act autonomously and should be reregulated to remove elements within it that run contrary to the respect for human rights.

“The Constitution says the government answers to Parliament when national security is concerned. So this document should be brought to Parliament for approval. Such a move will bring a change in mentality,” Türkdoğan told Sunday’s Zaman.

All these observers also underlined that urgent regulations are needed to make the closure of political parties more difficult.