Top government officials lay the foundation of the third Bosporus bridge in this photo from May. The government has drawn the ire of Alevis for wanting to name the bridge after Yavuz Sultan Selim. (Photo: Kürşat Bayhan, Sunday's Zaman)
4 August 2013 /BÜŞRA ÖZERLİ, ANKARA
More than two years into its third term in power, many of the ruling Justice and Development Party's (AK Party) election campaign promises on fundamental human rights, liberties and freedoms remain unfulfilled, and there are worrying signs of regress in some areas.
The most significant failure of the government was not delivering a new constitution, the foremost pledge of the AK Party on the eve of the 2011 national elections. The existing constitution was written in 1982, during a period of martial law imposed after a bloody coup two years earlier and is often the target of harsh criticism for failing to guarantee sufficient rights and freedoms.
“The prime minister's presidential system project was the goal behind all the steps taken [in the establishment of a new constitution],” said human rights lawyer Orhan Kemal Cengiz. Although he also blamed the opposition for this failure to some extent, Cengiz mainly found government responsible for not having provided the necessary environment.
“Removing the obstacles to freedom of speech should be the first move in drafting the constitution, since all kinds of discussion is necessary in this process,” Cengiz told Sunday's Zaman.
A parliamentary Constitutional Reconciliation Commission was established to draft a new constitution over one-and-a-half years ago. The commission was originally set to finish the new constitution by Dec. 31, 2012; however, they failed to do so.
Interpreted as a move to shift the responsibility away from the government, the AK Party delegated the task to a stillborn commission in Parliament which was deadlocked with unusual veto powers given to each and every member of the commission. The AK Party's presidential system proposal also prevented the commission from doing its work.
As of July 22, the commission has so far discussed 177 articles to be included in the new constitution, but its members have only agreed on 48 and are sharply divided over the remaining 129 articles.
Another commitment stated in the 2011 AK Party declaration was participatory democracy and more self-governance in local administrations. However, the approach of the government toward the Gezi Park protests that erupted in late May over a plan to demolish a park in İstanbul's famed Taksim Square indicated just the opposite.
A poll conducted by the Konsensus Research and Consultancy Company revealed that 61.4 percent of the Turkish public does not approve of the government's stance on the Gezi Park protests. The government responded to the protesters with a heavy use of tear gas, police force and finally, detentions.
In the 2011 electoral declaration, the AK Party also emphasized transparency and accountability in election campaign financing; no such law has yet been created.
Article 73 of the omnibus law amended Court of Accounts Law no. 6085, which was itself adopted only three years ago and was hailed as a major reform, harmonizing auditing rules with EU and universal standards. Prior to the amendment, the court had the right to review the expenditures of these partially state-controlled enterprises from the shareholders' perspective. “The prime minister does not favor transparency and has moved away from accountability,” said Mehmet Altan, a professor of economics at İstanbul University. He emphasized that the public procurement law is no longer applicable to any state tender now that the public oversight ability of the Court of Accounts has been crippled with the removal of its power to examine expenditures. As of April, the Regulation on Construction Tenders had been amended a total of 11 times since mid-2009.
The AK Party electoral declaration also pledged new developments in the judiciary. Last month, a bill was adopted in Parliament to improve efficiency in the judiciary by amending laws concerning judicial services. The bill, now known as Law no. 6494, made it obligatory for judges and prosecutors to serve at least 20 years in their profession in order to become members of the high judiciary, as opposed to the previous minimum of 15 years.
With the 2010 constitutional amendments that brought pluralism and merit-based competition to the judiciary, many talented judges and prosecutors were able to compete for senior positions based on their track record of rulings in the profession. Younger and dynamic members helped contribute to speeding up judicial processes in the notoriously cumbersome justice system. The government defeated the purpose of these amendments with a simple change in the law.
The AK Party revealed steps taken to activate regional appeals courts, saying that the government had completed the necessary work and promised to launch them in 2011. Yet, as of 2013, there are still no signs of regional appeals courts. Because the ruling party failed to fulfill this commitment, Justice Minister Sadullah Ergin revised the target date on June 19, saying that regional appeals courts will be established in 2014. “Although the law requiring the establishment of regional appeals courts was adopted in 2006, the Supreme Court of Appeals and the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors [HSYK] decided not to activate regional appeals courts before decreasing the workload of the appeals court and reaching the necessary number of prosecutors.'' added Ergin.
Although the AK Party also promised to trim the extensive privileges and immunities of the National Intelligence Organization (MİT), of more than 70 legal investigations and cases involving MİT officers, the Prime Ministry has granted permission for MİT officials to be questioned or tried in only seven cases, the Taraf daily maintained on July 17.
Cengiz underlines that it is acceptable that MİT officers be protected from judicial review up to a point, but recent events show that political power is being abused, leaving MİT uncontrolled.
However it was a neutered Ombudsman Law that was passed in Parliament on June 14. It came with a major flaw by excluding the military from the oversight of the ombudsman, saying that the actions of the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) will be exempted from review.
The government also mentioned the protection of personal data in 2011. MİT has started to collect the private data of citizens, however, according to Taraf daily. The latest amendments to the constitution about personal data were introduced in 2010. These amendments make clear that any effort to collect and share personal data must be authorized by law. No amendment has been made to the MİT enabling legislation since 2010.
The EU progress report of 2012 says, “The European Parliament stresses the need for further progress in implementing the 2010 constitutional amendments, in particular the adoption of laws on the protection of personal data and military justice.”
The government revealed its National Unity and Brotherhood project in its 2011 electoral declaration, promising to handle the problems of Alevi, Kurdish and non-Muslim citizens. Although the AK Party has demonstrated progress with the settlement process that aims to peacefully resolve the Kurdish issue, the problems of Alevi and non-Muslim citizens are still waiting to be addressed.
Regarding the Kurdish issue, İdris Kardaş, general director of the Platform for Global Challenges, told Sunday's Zaman that the most outstanding point about [settlement] process is that the AK Party managed to create a transparent environment that allows for negotiating the decades-old Kurdish problem.
The Gezi Park protests have exposed the difficulties that non-Muslim citizens face once again. “Unfortunately, I observe that society is being categorized,” said Laki Vingas, the elected representative of non-Muslim foundations at the Council of the General Assembly of the Directorate General for Foundations (VGM) in a recent statement. He underlined that minorities were slammed by the government during the Gezi Park protests.
Alevis, who have been saying for years that they don't enjoy the full rights of citizens nor do they receive equal treatment from the state, were deeply hurt by a recent announcement that the third bridge to be built over the Bosporus would be named after Yavuz Sultan Selim, an Ottoman sultan who allegedly ordered the execution of tens of thousands of Alevis in Anatolia in the 16th century.
A new Alevi initiative was mentioned by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan during a rally he held in Kayseri as part of a series of AK Party rallies in reaction to the Gezi Park protests. Noting that Alevis had supported the protests, the prime minister decided to launch an initiative and create a roadmap to examine their concerns.
“Unfortunately, there haven't been any developments on the problems of Alevi citizens. The prime minister just said that the government would continue its efforts to solve Alevi issues. We will all see the results together,” Alevi Foundations Federation (AVF) Chairman Doğan Bermek said in remarks to Sunday's Zaman.
The AK Party has left many of its 2011 commitments unfulfilled, which has weakened the party's credibility, and voters may well call the government to account during the next election period.
“The prime minister's presidential system project was the goal behind all the steps taken [in the establishment of a new constitution],” said human rights lawyer Orhan Kemal Cengiz. Although he also blamed the opposition for this failure to some extent, Cengiz mainly found government responsible for not having provided the necessary environment.
“Removing the obstacles to freedom of speech should be the first move in drafting the constitution, since all kinds of discussion is necessary in this process,” Cengiz told Sunday's Zaman.
A parliamentary Constitutional Reconciliation Commission was established to draft a new constitution over one-and-a-half years ago. The commission was originally set to finish the new constitution by Dec. 31, 2012; however, they failed to do so.
Interpreted as a move to shift the responsibility away from the government, the AK Party delegated the task to a stillborn commission in Parliament which was deadlocked with unusual veto powers given to each and every member of the commission. The AK Party's presidential system proposal also prevented the commission from doing its work.
As of July 22, the commission has so far discussed 177 articles to be included in the new constitution, but its members have only agreed on 48 and are sharply divided over the remaining 129 articles.
Another commitment stated in the 2011 AK Party declaration was participatory democracy and more self-governance in local administrations. However, the approach of the government toward the Gezi Park protests that erupted in late May over a plan to demolish a park in İstanbul's famed Taksim Square indicated just the opposite.
A poll conducted by the Konsensus Research and Consultancy Company revealed that 61.4 percent of the Turkish public does not approve of the government's stance on the Gezi Park protests. The government responded to the protesters with a heavy use of tear gas, police force and finally, detentions.
In the 2011 electoral declaration, the AK Party also emphasized transparency and accountability in election campaign financing; no such law has yet been created.
Blow to accountability
The AK Party took another worrying step regarding the control of expenditures when it removed the power of the Court of Accounts to audit the expenditures of corporations, foundations, agencies or institutions where the state share of ownership is less than 50 percent.Article 73 of the omnibus law amended Court of Accounts Law no. 6085, which was itself adopted only three years ago and was hailed as a major reform, harmonizing auditing rules with EU and universal standards. Prior to the amendment, the court had the right to review the expenditures of these partially state-controlled enterprises from the shareholders' perspective. “The prime minister does not favor transparency and has moved away from accountability,” said Mehmet Altan, a professor of economics at İstanbul University. He emphasized that the public procurement law is no longer applicable to any state tender now that the public oversight ability of the Court of Accounts has been crippled with the removal of its power to examine expenditures. As of April, the Regulation on Construction Tenders had been amended a total of 11 times since mid-2009.
The AK Party electoral declaration also pledged new developments in the judiciary. Last month, a bill was adopted in Parliament to improve efficiency in the judiciary by amending laws concerning judicial services. The bill, now known as Law no. 6494, made it obligatory for judges and prosecutors to serve at least 20 years in their profession in order to become members of the high judiciary, as opposed to the previous minimum of 15 years.
With the 2010 constitutional amendments that brought pluralism and merit-based competition to the judiciary, many talented judges and prosecutors were able to compete for senior positions based on their track record of rulings in the profession. Younger and dynamic members helped contribute to speeding up judicial processes in the notoriously cumbersome justice system. The government defeated the purpose of these amendments with a simple change in the law.
The AK Party revealed steps taken to activate regional appeals courts, saying that the government had completed the necessary work and promised to launch them in 2011. Yet, as of 2013, there are still no signs of regional appeals courts. Because the ruling party failed to fulfill this commitment, Justice Minister Sadullah Ergin revised the target date on June 19, saying that regional appeals courts will be established in 2014. “Although the law requiring the establishment of regional appeals courts was adopted in 2006, the Supreme Court of Appeals and the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors [HSYK] decided not to activate regional appeals courts before decreasing the workload of the appeals court and reaching the necessary number of prosecutors.'' added Ergin.
Although the AK Party also promised to trim the extensive privileges and immunities of the National Intelligence Organization (MİT), of more than 70 legal investigations and cases involving MİT officers, the Prime Ministry has granted permission for MİT officials to be questioned or tried in only seven cases, the Taraf daily maintained on July 17.
Cengiz underlines that it is acceptable that MİT officers be protected from judicial review up to a point, but recent events show that political power is being abused, leaving MİT uncontrolled.
Ombudsman law neutered
As promised in the 2011 declaration, the Ombudsman's Office, called the Public Monitoring Institution (KDK), was established. It is responsible for examining and investigating all manner of administrative acts, actions, attitudes and behavior in terms of respect for human rights and freedoms, conformity with the law and fairness and appropriateness within the framework of the character of the Republic of Turkey as enshrined in its constitution.However it was a neutered Ombudsman Law that was passed in Parliament on June 14. It came with a major flaw by excluding the military from the oversight of the ombudsman, saying that the actions of the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) will be exempted from review.
The government also mentioned the protection of personal data in 2011. MİT has started to collect the private data of citizens, however, according to Taraf daily. The latest amendments to the constitution about personal data were introduced in 2010. These amendments make clear that any effort to collect and share personal data must be authorized by law. No amendment has been made to the MİT enabling legislation since 2010.
The EU progress report of 2012 says, “The European Parliament stresses the need for further progress in implementing the 2010 constitutional amendments, in particular the adoption of laws on the protection of personal data and military justice.”
The government revealed its National Unity and Brotherhood project in its 2011 electoral declaration, promising to handle the problems of Alevi, Kurdish and non-Muslim citizens. Although the AK Party has demonstrated progress with the settlement process that aims to peacefully resolve the Kurdish issue, the problems of Alevi and non-Muslim citizens are still waiting to be addressed.
Regarding the Kurdish issue, İdris Kardaş, general director of the Platform for Global Challenges, told Sunday's Zaman that the most outstanding point about [settlement] process is that the AK Party managed to create a transparent environment that allows for negotiating the decades-old Kurdish problem.
The Gezi Park protests have exposed the difficulties that non-Muslim citizens face once again. “Unfortunately, I observe that society is being categorized,” said Laki Vingas, the elected representative of non-Muslim foundations at the Council of the General Assembly of the Directorate General for Foundations (VGM) in a recent statement. He underlined that minorities were slammed by the government during the Gezi Park protests.
Alevis, who have been saying for years that they don't enjoy the full rights of citizens nor do they receive equal treatment from the state, were deeply hurt by a recent announcement that the third bridge to be built over the Bosporus would be named after Yavuz Sultan Selim, an Ottoman sultan who allegedly ordered the execution of tens of thousands of Alevis in Anatolia in the 16th century.
A new Alevi initiative was mentioned by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan during a rally he held in Kayseri as part of a series of AK Party rallies in reaction to the Gezi Park protests. Noting that Alevis had supported the protests, the prime minister decided to launch an initiative and create a roadmap to examine their concerns.
“Unfortunately, there haven't been any developments on the problems of Alevi citizens. The prime minister just said that the government would continue its efforts to solve Alevi issues. We will all see the results together,” Alevi Foundations Federation (AVF) Chairman Doğan Bermek said in remarks to Sunday's Zaman.
The AK Party has left many of its 2011 commitments unfulfilled, which has weakened the party's credibility, and voters may well call the government to account during the next election period.