Saturday, 31 December 2011As the Constitutional Conciliation Commission wraps up the first stage of gathering the public's and civil society groups' input for the new civilian constitution on Saturday (December 31st), bloggers question whether the document will be completed by the target date -- the end of 2012.
Bloggers' scepticism is compounded by fears over the increasing clamp down on freedoms and the silencing of the opposition's voice at this important juncture. Some fear the ruling AKP will dominate -- even dictate -- the final outcome.
Of particular concern are the waves of arrests under the scope of the ongoing Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK) case, which is viewed by many Kurds as an attempt to silence the Kurdish opposition.
Democratic institutions and the early stages of the new constitution drafting process are being damaged at the outset, say some bloggers, stoking pessimism the new national charter may not be able to resolve many of the country's problems.
For Ozgur Muftuoglu, a blogger from Istanbul, "it is impossible to draft a democratic constitution in the absence of freedoms."
To create a truly democratic constitution, he writes, "a democratic atmosphere must be provided where Kurds, Alevis, women, students, workers and other segments of society that are being repressed by the sovereign authority [of the state] can express themselves freely."
For this to happen, he says: "Obstacles to freedom of association must be lifted; methods of violence, such as the use of gas and water cannons [against protestors], and unjust trials must end against those who try to express themselves through democratic ways."
"Otherwise, this 'new constitution' will be no different than the others," he writes.
Expectations are high in AKP government circles that parliament's Constitutional Conciliation Commission, which consists of representatives of all four parties in parliament, will be able to work together to draft a new civilian constitution.
But Rifat Serdaroglu, former state minister and Izmir MP, says that the governing AKP, with its control over the government and state apparatus, will have too much control over the drafting of a new constitution.
"Unfortunately, a large portion of society, bar associations, and civil society organisations aren't interested in the drafting of the constitution," he laments.
"Some of them are afraid to raise their voices, while many prefer to keep silence because they have no desire to be the extras in a play with an obvious ending," he adds.
Journalist-blogger Tufan Turenc strikes a similar note, pointing out that people ask for guarantees before explaining their views regarding the constitution because they are afraid of being arrested.
"[Parliament Speaker Cemil] Cicek can give as many assurances as he wants, but no one believes it," Turenc writes.
Cezbet.com mentions that "the Constitutional Commission continues its mission successfully by sending its messages to society, however, it doesn't give any hope regarding the conclusion."
"Because the parties still haven't stated their views on critical components [of the constitution], the discussions around the vital changes [needed] to ensure social peace still haven't taken place," the blogger writes.
Meanwhile, Haber Merkezi quotes Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges (TOBB) head Rifat Hisarciklioglu, who said the new constitution must "exclude all forms of discrimination; serve to realise the ideal of equality in all aspects of social life; provide individuals with benefits of universally recognised fundamental rights and freedoms; and preserve the concept of a democratic, secular and social state of law."
Blogger-musician Necmettin Tanju Suar is concerned that the new constitution may ignore the principles of the Ataturk Revolution, writing that Turkey's founder is being "forgotten". His image does not appear on the recently created official webpage for the new constitution.
"As a rule, all of the government bodies must have the picture of Kemal Ataturk on their official webpage," he writes.
"What would those who don't put Ataturk's picture on their webpage not place in the constitution? We will not wait and see. We will not allow a constitution which will divide [the nation]."
Bekir Agirdir from Istanbul worries that ordinary people are not sharing their viewpoints or concerns regarding the new constitution on the official webpage.
He asks if the new constitution is actually being drafted without public input.
Like many others, blogger Faruk Ekmekci from Trabzon is sceptical about the possibility of a civil and democratic constitution coming out of the current constitutional debates.
He notes that while following the Western models of constitutions during the drafting process, Turkey shouldn't ignore "the main laws of the young Eastern democracies, such as Iraq".
"Perhaps the last idea coming to most of our minds is the Iraqi Constitution, which is a product of compromise and contains problematic clauses according to Western standards," he writes. |
Saturday, 31 December 2011
SETimes
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