PULSE of TURKEY No 8..................TUESDAY MAY 27th 1998
RELIGIOUS FUNDAMENTALISM – “NOT ALL NSC RECOMMENDATIONS APPLICABLE”, SAYS PM
Is time running out for passing secular bills? Will government be able to dodge filibustering in Parliament? What is the biggest reassurance against religious fundamentalism in PM’s eyes? Will Baykal give more effective support now?
“Some of the recommendations made by the National Security Council to fight religious fundamentalism is not applicable”, said Prime Minister Mesut Yýlmaz during a televised interview on May 24th. Explaining the possibilities of enacting the bills in Parliament before the recess, the PM said that the February 28th, 1997 recommendations of the NSC were divided into three groups.
Of the 18 recommendations to curb reactionary movements some were ready for implementation and his government had carried them out during its 11 months in office. Some others needed certain adjustments and a change in the legislation. The government had presented 13 bills to Parliament for that reason. Some others, however, were simply not applicable, he said.
Asked what they were, Yýlmaz said that the closing down or transferring of private schools to the Ministry of Education came into this category. It would violate the general legal rules or go against the right to own property, according to the Constitution, he said.
The Prime Minister did not go into detail, but he was evidently referring to the military’s initiative to close down some 500 schools of the Fetullah Gülen group in Turkey and abroad, particularly in the former USSR. A couple of days before the Prime Minister’s interview on the TRT television, the students of these schools in Moscow significantly received General Ismail Hakký Karadayý, the Chief of the TGS (Turkish General Staff), with welcome posters and flowers at Moscow airport.
The Prime Minister was optimistic about the legislation of these 13 bills before the recess at the end of June. He said three or four of them had already been passed through the relevant committees and come up with the floor for enactment. These concerned the building of mosques by the people.
Under the new rules debated in Parliament, the permission of the local religious authorities and relevant local government will be necessary for building mosques. These rules will prevent the illegal building of mosques and also the plundering of crown land. Afraid of the outcry in the media: “the Government has pulled down a mosque”, no politician could possibly give orders about demolishing illegally built mosques. After a mosque was built illegally some profiteers used to plunder crown lands and erect illegal squatters’ huts. This will be no longer possible when this bill is legislated.
Technology to curb filibustering
The Prime Minister said that in addition to the 13 bills, they were also making amendments in certain laws such as the pious foundations’ law, the public demonstrations’ law, the banks’ law, the local governments’ law and the penal code, with an eye to curbing religious fundamentalism. Demonstrations within a certain distance to mosques and collecting donations from the public would be banned or revised under these new rules.
About the chances of passing these bills before the recess, Yýlmaz said that they would try to adopt new rules for working longer hours in Parliament and also take measures against the opposition’s obstructions. One of the common methods of filibustering was the opposition parties’ frequent demand for roll calls, with a claim that the necessary quorum is absent. They would soon open the new conference hall of Parliament and reduce the roll call time from one hour to a few minutes, thanks to the electronic devises installed there, he said.
Autonomy of the Judiciary is not a joke in Turkey
The Prime Minister believes that these new rules are useful and necessary, but not mandatory to curb religious fundamentalism in Turkey. Even before the enactment of these rules and laws, the Judiciary could close down the biggest political party in Parliament and oust from politics the person who was Prime Minister only yesterday. This was proof of the autonomy of the Judiciary in Turkey. It also showed that the existing laws were effective to fight religious fundamentalism, he stressed.
Now that the CHP (Republican People’s Party) has held its national convention to chairman Deniz Baykal’s satisfaction, PM Yýlmaz is expected to have another meeting with him to seek his help for passing the necessary bills before the parliamentary recess. If support is not forthcoming he will urge the CHP to unseat the Government and take over the responsibility to rule. As Baykal cannot possibly cooperate with the Haji-Baji team, he has no alternative to cooperating with the ruling coalition. Neither can he play for time any more as the patience of his own party members is running out.
As for Çiller’s intention of having an election government under Baykal, it is a huge joke. After Erbakan, the noose around Çiller’s neck is tightening and her end may be much graver than the former, as corruption charges against the Çiller family do not seem to be unfounded as she is trying to make them out.