The constitutional reforms, backed by the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government, will be voted on in a referendum on Sept. 12, the same day when military commanders ousted the civilian government in the 1980 coup. Opposition parties are against the changes and are hoping that non-AK Party voters will vote against it. The government, on the other hand, says this is a historic chance to undo coup-era injustices and says the changes will extend freedoms.
Talat, who lost the latest presidential election in April to his conservative rival Derviş Eroğlu, said the anti-democratic practices of the coup era benefited the hard-line ruler of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (KKTC), former President Rauf Denktaş, who has persistently campaigned for the independence of the KKTC. Talat defeated Denktaş in the 2005 election, promising reunification with the Greek Cypriots.
“Denktaş and the governments of the time were not happy with the level of democracy in the KKTC and they did whatever they could to change it,” he said in an interview, citing restrictions imposed in the KKTC on labor unions and political organizations in the post-coup era. “I am glad that the Constitution is being changed. This Constitution has inflicted pain and suffering on many people,” he said.
