Identifier | Created | Classification | Origin |
---|---|---|---|
10ANKARA66 | 2010-01-14 16:33:00 | CONFIDENTIAL | Embassy Ankara |
VZCZCXRO8207 PP RUEHDBU RUEHFL RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHNP RUEHROV RUEHSL RUEHSR DE RUEHAK #0066 0141633 ZNY CCCCC ZZH P 141633Z JAN 10 FM AMEMBASSY ANKARA TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1694 INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE RUEHIT/AMCONSUL ISTANBUL 6761 |
C O N F I D E N T I A L ANKARA 000066 |
1. (C) SUMMARY: Ahmet Iyiymaya, the point man in the Justice and Development Party (AKP) for legal and constitutional reform, dismissed recent press reports that AKP was planning to bring constitutional amendments to a referendum in the near term. His message was unconvincing, however, suggesting that AKP may be holding its reform cards close to the chest or, as with the National Unity Project, is not yet certain exactly how to proceed. END SUMMARY. 2. (C) Ahmet Iyimaya, the head of the Constitutional and Judicial Reform Committee in Parliament and a former professor of constitutional law, discussed the proposal by AKP to shorten the debate period for a referendum on constitutional amendments with us on January 14. He dismissed press reports that the AKP wanted the procedural change in order to quickly pass a package of amendments that would include allowing government workers the right to strike, ending or hindering the process providing for the closure of political parties, and changing the composition of the Constitutional Court. He said that such reports were "guesses, not fact." 3. (C) "This is not to say there will be no referendum," Iyimaya said. It is to say instead that the AKP has no plan for bringing forward amendments, but wants the change in referendum procedures in the event it feels the need to amend the constitution in the future. AKP regards the current procedure -- requiring 120 days to pass between the call for a referendum and the referendum date -- as no longer suitable in an environment of continuous news coverage and high-speed telecommunications. A 120-day period of debate contributes to distortion of the issue, not its clarification, Iyimaya contended. He pointed out that given the current political atmosphere (alluding to the violence preceding and following the closure of the Kurdish nationalist Democratic Society Party (DTP)), the AKP is not planning any significant reforms: to do so in such a tense environment would be counterproductive. He was especially dismissive of the possibility of a public workers' strike amendment, declaring that its need will vanish as the government completes its (stalled) privatization agenda. 4. (C) COMMENT: The window for a possible referendum to be launched is actually quite short. If a referendum is called within a year of regularly-scheduled elections, it must be held in conjunction with that election. Since the next general election will be held -- at the latest -- by July of 2011, any referendum would have to be held on or before July 2010. Under the current system of 120 days of debate before a referendum can be held, constitutional amendments would have to leave parliament and be submitted for a referendum by mid-February, an extremely tight schedule. If the debate period is shortened to 45 days with the new draft law, the AKP would have until the middle of May to prepare and pass amendments. Jeffrey "Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at http://www.intelink.s gov.gov/wiki/Portal:Turkey" |