CHP leader Baykal attaches more strings to compromise offer

The three articles Baykal was referring to are the most controversial ones in the package, covering changes to the structure of the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK) and making party closures more difficult.

Baykal's proposal, however, is likely to make compromise among political parties on the reform package even more difficult.

The government presented a 30-article reform package to Parliament last week. The CHP initially dismissed the constitutional reform package out of hand, calling it a government attempt to take over the judiciary. It later called on the AK Party to exclude the planned changes to party closure procedures and the structure of the Constitutional Court and the HSYK from the package in exchange for support from the CHP.

The party added yet another string to the compromise offer on Monday. During a press conference, the CHP leader said: “The AK Party should suspend discussing those three articles. They will most probably be nullified by the Constitutional Court [if passed by Parliament]. There is no need for an imposition on those articles. I am bringing a new proposal. We may cooperate on this issue. We are ready to contribute [to the reform package]. I am asking the AK Party to handle those three articles after the next elections.”

The next parliamentary elections are slated for July 2011. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had given the green light for cooperation with the main opposition party on the constitutional reform package on Sunday.

In the wake of a previous proposal by the CHP for the exclusion of the three articles from the package and their inclusion in a new package, Erdoğan said: “We are ready to evaluate such a proposal if it complies with the law.” However, it was not immediately certain how the prime minister would react to Baykal’s new proposal. The reform package will continue to be debated in Parliament’s Constitutional Commission this week. It is expected to be forwarded to the parliamentary general assembly later this week.

In response to Baykal’s proposal, AK Party parliamentary group deputy chairman Suat Kılıç said the CHP’s proposal was not a “reassuring political approach,” adding that the main opposition party is unwilling to see cooperation among political parties on the constitutional reform package.

“With this proposal, Baykal has shown that he has closed his party’s doors for cooperation. He should not have expanded his proposal with a new one. I wish he had reiterated his previous proposal,” Kılıç noted.

Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) parliamentary group deputy chairman Oktay Vural said his party would by no means cooperate with the ruling party on the planned constitutional changes. Indeed, the party does not oppose the spirit of the package, but it demands that the changes be delayed until a new parliament is formed after next year’s elections and that a compromise commission be formed to discuss the changes. “I cannot comment on the rapprochement between the two parties [the AK Party and the CHP]. As the MHP, we maintain our position,” he noted.

Justice Minister Sadullah Ergin said he did not have the chance to study Baykal’s proposal yet, adding that he would make his view on the contentious proposal public after an evaluation of the issue. In the meantime, three CHP parliamentary group deputy chairmen -- Kemal Anadol, Hakkı Suha Okay and Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu -- paid a visit to the AK Party deputy chairmen in Parliament yesterday afternoon to discuss the content of the reform package. Okay said the request for the meeting came from his party.

The current Constitution was drafted without popular consent in the wake of the military coup of Sept. 12, 1980. The supreme law governing Turkey has been criticized for lacking the democratic nature and basic regard for rights and freedoms that this era requires.

At the end of the meeting, Anadol said the CHP deputy group deputy chairmen submitted their party’s opinion on the exclusion of the planned changes on the structure of the Constitutional Court and the HSYK and the party closure procedures to the ruling party. He said the AK Party will make public its views on the CHP proposal after Prime Minister and AK Party leader Erdoğan returns to Turkey from his visit to the US.

Also on Monday, President Abdullah Gül declined to comment on the constitutional change debates, saying his position as a president prevents him from engaging in such debates.

“Constitutional change should be undertaken through dialogue and debates in pluralist democratic systems. Therefore, it would not be appropriate for me to be engaged in such debates due to my position as a president. I may share my ideas and make necessary warnings on the issue when necessary. I am watching the developments,” the president said.

Meanwhile, AK Party Ankara deputy Mehmet Zekai Özcan announced that he resigned from his party. The deputy reportedly decided to part ways with the ruling party as he did not wish to support the government’s constitutional reform package. With Özcan’s resignation, the number of AK Party seats in Parliament dropped to 336.