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Sunday 07th of September 2008 02:15:03 AM GMT+2

Turkey's judiciary has to respect the elected

The latest outbursts of the judicial authorities against the government have shown that some appointed people find it hard to respect the will of the people and the supremacy of the parliament. Parliament Speaker Koksal Toptan has reminded them of the realities.

Ilnur Cevik

22 January 2008

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ilnurcevik@yahoo.com

For a long time the Turkish military has been branded as the villain that has been stalling the democratization process in Turkey. But people seemed to overlook the role of the judiciary in this process.

The judiciary has been interfering in politics and has at times been acting like a legislative body that has complicated the democratic process in Turkey.

Wasn't it the Constitutional Court that took an arbitrary decision last May forcing the annulment of the presidential elections and thus forcing early parliamentary polls?

But the judiciary was not alone. It had acted in coordination with the military to prevent Abdullah Gul from being elected…

Now we see that the judiciary is back in action.

The Council of State and the chief prosecutor of the Supreme Court of Appeals who has the power of launching court cases to closedown political parties have both come out against government plans to lift the headscarf ban at universities by warning that if the ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party takes such steps and some other conservative parties help them in parliament to legislate an end to the restrictions then they risk legal action for the closure of their parties…

First the prime minister reacted strongly. But then it was Parliament Speaker Koksal Toptan who declared the supremacy of the parliament cannot be questioned. He said the judiciary should not try to takeover the duties and functions of the parliament.

But Toptan should be used to all this. After all he was a member of the Demirel administration that was ousted in 1980. He was among the fighters of democracy who opposed political bans in the 1980s.

Now we see that those who wanted to scuttle the supremacy of the will of the people are back in action in the name of preserving the secular system. Yet, their aim is not really to defend the secular system but to put an end to the AK party regime that has brought sweeping democratic changes in the country. They want to restore the old system of plunder, favoritism, nepotism and corruption.

Toptan did the right thing to remind the judiciary of who is the boss. It is high time people spoke up and defined in clear terms where the boundaries of the judiciary end and what the authorities and responsibilities of the elected parliament are.

Appointed people in Turkey have to learn to respect those who have been elected. They have to start respecting the will of the people.

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