Bağış: EU accession impossible with current Constitution

“We cannot reach a level of democracy compatible with EU standards while the spirit of the coup Constitution is still with us, and we cannot be a member of the EU,” Bağış said in an interview with Today’s Zaman. Stating that the upcoming referendum on the 26-article constitutional reform package is of crucial importance for Turkey, Bağış said he had prepared a text explaining how the changes are important for Turkey’s EU-accession for his European colleagues. Bağış is also highly critical of Turkish opposition parties, which have announced that they will vote against the reforms. Stating that they should review their approach to the referendum, he said the opposition parties took the wrong train. “Come and let’s take the EU train together. It would be of no use to run backwards in the corridor of the wrong train. Those who were ‘hosted’ at Mamak Prison and Diyarbakır Military Prison are now sidestepping when we call on them to remove the remnants of the Sept. 12 junta. I have hard time understanding that. I really wonder how those who keep saying ‘Democracy’ will vote ‘no’ in the referendum,” he stated.

Hundreds of thousands were tortured in Turkish prisons in the aftermath of the Sept. 12 coup, the bloodiest military takeover in Turkish history.

Stating that the reforms aim to get rid of the remnants of the 1982 Constitution, Bağış said he believes the nation will bid farewell to the pro-coup mentality on Sept. 12. “The nation will show that nobody can curb its will. We are against any kind of mentality that treats citizens like children,” the minister said.

A referendum will be held on Sept. 12 where the nation will vote on a number of constitutional amendments approved by Parliament in May. Among other things, the reform package includes changes to the structure of the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK). Furthermore, the package repeals Article 15 of the Constitution, which grants immunity to the generals responsible for the Sept. 12, 1980, coup.

Constitutional Court, HSYK to be brought up to EU standards

Bağış also responded to claims that the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government seeks to control the judiciary with the amendments. “With the changes to the HSYK and the Constitutional Court, the structures of these institutions will be made compatible with those of EU countries. There is currently no country other than Turkey in the West whose parliament has no say in the election of judges to a constitutional court. For example, in Germany, Poland and Hungary all members of constitutional courts are appointed by parliament. As for the HSYK, the legislative and the executive bodies appoint members to such institutions in many democratic countries,” he said.

Recalling that the reform package will pave the way for the trial of coup leaders, Bağış said there are important articles in the package for Turkey’s civilianization. “[With the changes] military officers who commit crimes against the constitutional order will be tried in civilian courts. Judicial tutelage would also be ended with this package. The independence, impartiality and democratic legitimacy of the judiciary would be strengthened. The Constitutional Court and the HSYK would be transformed into more democratic structures allowing for greater participation. These are significant steps toward civilianization,” he stated.

The minister said the package also brings broader rights and freedoms for ordinary citizens. He brought to mind that the package includes new legislation introducing affirmative action for women, an article on privacy and the protection of private data, new rules on international travel bans, measures against child abuse, changes that allow membership in more than one union in the same sector, changes that grant the right to collective bargaining to civil servants, changes that would end strike bans in some sectors and provisions to set up an ombudsman’s office. Bağış added that the provisions that would open the HSYK and the Supreme Military Council’s (YAŞ) decisions to judicial review are also very meaningful.

Many military members, judges and prosecutors have been discharged due to highly controversial YAŞ and HSYK decisions. Under the existing Constitution, YAŞ and HSYK decisions cannot be appealed to a higher body. More than 1,600 military officers have been expelled from the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) on the grounds that they were engaged in anti-secular activities. Similarly, many judges and prosecutors have been discharged for alleged abuses of power.

Bağış said the package would also allow for individual complaints to Turkey’s Constitutional Court after all domestic remedies have been exhausted. “I cannot understand the opposition of parties which define themselves as leftist and who always call for a ‘social state’ to social rights for workers and civil servants,” he said.