Parliament challenges Sept. 12 coup generals despite opposition

The amendment abolishing Article 15 of the Constitution, which bans any legal action against coup generals, passed with 336 votes for and 70 against. The main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) refused to attend the voting process while deputies of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) voted against the article. The ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) is a strong supporter of paving the way for legal action, albeit symbolically, against the instigators of the Sept. 12 coup.

Article 15 of the Constitution, which was added by the coup generals, bans any legal action against them. It is believed to be the biggest obstacle to the trial of coup perpetrators. “No allegation of criminal, financial or legal responsibility shall be made, nor shall an application be filed with a court for this purpose with respect to any decisions or measures whatsoever taken by the National Security Council [MGK],” the article stipulates. In June, CHP leader Baykal proposed that Parliament remove all obstacles that stand in the way of bringing the generals who led the Sept. 12 coup to justice. Baykal's unexpected U-turn from his pro-military stance was met with skepticism by political analysts, who said the main opposition leader may have attempted to win back the hearts of anti-coup voters.

The removal of the article will, however, have only symbolic meaning, according to most jurists, as the statute of limitations for the generals' actions runs out in a few months, on Sept. 12, 2010.

The Sept. 12 coup was staged under the leadership of retired Gen. Kenan Evren, the then-chief of General Staff. The general was assisted by former Land Forces Commander Gen. Nurettin Ersin, former Air Forces Commander Gen. Tahsin Şahinkaya, former Naval Forces Commander Adm. Nejat Tümer and former Gendarmerie General Commander Gen. Sedat Celasun as well as hundreds of military officers. If a trial for the coup stagers begins, up to 5,000 people are expected to stand before the court on coup charges.

The pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) used to be a strong supporter of the trial of coup plotters. However, the party refused to cooperate with the AK Party on the reform package because its demand for a lower election threshold was not met.

Ahead of the voting process in Parliament on Tuesday, Ayşe Nur Bahçekapılı, an AK Party deputy parliamentary group chairperson, called on deputies to support the removal of Article 15 from the Constitution and read aloud a long list of Turkey’s leftist and rightist figures who were executed after the 1980 coup. “Let’s salute the executed with our votes. Tonight I will sleep with my conscience at ease as a deputy who will vote in favor of the constitutional amendments. I will set my conscience free by voting for the removal of Article 15. I will leave those who will not vote alone with their consciences,” she said.

CHP and MHP deputies, on the other hand, criticized the timing of the reform package and accused the ruling AK Party of acting insincerely. According to CHP’s Ali Rıza Öztürk, the ruling party wasted several years before removing the controversial article. MHP deputies also said they strongly desire the trial of Sept. 12 coup instigators, but refused to support the constitutional amendments, arguing that even if Article 15 were abolished, the coup generals would not be tried due to the statute of limitations.

BDP Şırnak deputy Hasip Kaplan maintained that Turkey was too late in discussing the trial of the Sept. 12 generals. “Parliament cannot acquit itself by referring an aged general to a judicial body. It cannot heal the sorrows of Sept. 12’s victims in this way,” he said. Retired Gen. Evren is 92 years old.

Change to HSYK structure also passed

Parliament also passed planned changes to the structure of the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK), one of the most contentious articles of the reform package. The article passed with 336 votes for and 72 votes against.

An overhaul of the HSYK’s structure will increase the number of the board’s members from seven to 22. Four members of the board will be appointed by the president while three will be elected by the Supreme Court of Appeals. Two members will be elected by the Council of State and one member will be elected by the Justice Academy of Turkey. The remaining members will be elected by judges and prosecutors.

The restructuring is intended to prevent the HSYK from being a board that acts according to ideological impulses.

Under the new structure, the Ministry of Justice will transfer some of its authority to the HSYK. The board will be allowed to hold meetings even if the undersecretary of the Ministry of Justice does not attend.

HSYK Deputy Chairman Kadir Özbek told reporters on Wednesday that his board had issued “necessary warnings” about the reform package. “Parliament is remaining steadfast in its work. No final result has been attained yet. We are following the [voting] process. We have to respect the process. We fulfilled our duty to issue necessary warnings in the name of the independence of the judiciary,” he said.

Parliament also passed Article 24 of the reform package, which introduces changes to Article 53 of the Constitution. The article will bring changes to the Economic Social Council Law. The article received 340 yeas and 69 nays.

Also on Wednesday, Parliament continued voting on the remaining articles of the constitutional amendment package. The results of the voting process were, however, not available by the time Today’s Zaman went to print. With this, Parliament was scheduled to conclude its first round of voting on the package. Deputies will vote on the package as a whole during the second turn, which is expected to kick off in a couple of days.