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Sezer Vetoes Penal Code Over Religious Schools
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Former strictly secular lawyer was widely expected to veto the bill.
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ANKARA,
June 3, 2005 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - Turkey's
President Ahmet Necdet Sezer Friday, June 3, vetoed a
government-sponsored law reducing penalties for unauthorized religious
schools teaching the Noble Qur'an, arguing that it infringed on the
secularist principles of the Muslim-majority country.
The
provision was part of a package of amendments to the Turkish penal
code, spearheaded by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).
The
article, which would have enabled those convicted of opening and
running "illegal" educational institutions to escape with a
fine rather than a jail term of up to three years, triggered
accusations that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government is
condoning "religious fundamentalism", according to Agence
France-Presse (AFP).
Sezer,
a staunch secularist who has often clashed with the government, said
in a statement that he had returned the law to parliament for
reconsideration because it "is encouraging the opening of illegal
educational institutions."
The
principle of secularism "is the cornerstone of the values on
which the Turkish Republic is founded," he said.
"It
is obvious that the country's unity in the future will be endangered
by the perverted mindsets of citizens educated in illegal separatist
and religious educational institutions," he said.
Back
to Parliament
The
parliament will now review the law, and if it passes it for a second
time unchanged, Sezer has no other option but to approve it. He can,
however, ask the constitutional court to annul the legislation.
The
vetoed provision was introduced by the AKP as a last-minute change to
a package of penal code amendments during a parliamentary debate last
week.
The
main opposition boycotted the session and charged that the AKP has a
secret Islamist agenda, even though it has disavowed its roots.
Islamist
activists in Turkey often run clandestine schools teaching the Koran,
where -- free from government control -- they are accused of breeding
religious hardliners.
Earlier
in May, the Turkish parliament overwhelmingly endorsed the higher
education law allowing graduates of religious schools to join
universities, despite the opposition of the powerful military and
secular forces.
Of
the 258 lawmakers who attended the stormy session, 254 voted
"yes" to the bill against four dissenting voices.
The
11-article bill allows easing restrictions on graduates of Islamic
schools in obtaining university degrees other than in divinity
studies, thus opening the way for them to hold public offices.
It
also curtails the military's influence on the supreme council of
higher education, and stipulates that no army general should be
allowed to attend its sessions.
The
opposition then claimed that the new law was
"politically-motivated" and used as a "cover-up"
to strengthen the position of the religious schools in the country.
It
has drawn objection from the opposition parties and the army, keen to
keep a secular system in the predominantly-Muslim country.
The
Republican People's Party (CHP) led a campaign of protest against the
measure before the Thursday vote and threatened to take the issue to
the Constitutional Court.
The
party members offered 43 proposals mostly for pulling out the bill,
and walked out of the session to reduce the number of lawmakers needed
to vote on the bill.
But
the plan did not work out, as members of another opposition party, the
Right Path (DYP), which has four seats in the 550-seat parliament,
gave the thumps-up weighing balance in favor of the ruling party.
Press
Hurt
Sezer's
veto also effectively halted several other amendments to the penal
code aimed at addressing widespread concerns over press freedoms.
The
package would have notably scrapped provisions envisaging increased
penalties for some offenses if they are committed via the media, such
as slander, insult to the president and incitement to war against
Turkey.
Press
groups, however, have denounced the changes as inadequate on the
grounds that journalists may still end up in prison, even though jail
sentences were purged from the press law in another reform last year.
Turkey's
new penal code, which the vetoed package was to amend, took effect
Tuesday.
Despite
the misgivings of the press, the code, a key European Union demand
from membership candidate Turkey, has been generally welcomed for
introducing a more liberal justice system, in particular increasing
penalties for human rights abuses and significantly improving the
rights of women and children.
The
Turkish parliament has passed a package
of other constitutional amendments paving the way for
membership talks with the expanding European Union.
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