Francis Chartrand for Rivière-des-Mille-Îles

The Justice and Development Party (AKP) to power in Turkey since 2002, will not be dissolved, and 71 of its main leaders, including President Abdullah Gül and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, will not be banned from any political office.

After two days of deliberations, the Turkish Constitutional Court announced Wednesday it rejected a request to that effect filed by the Attorney General. Ce dernier alléguait que le parti portait atteinte au sacro-saint principe de laïcité de l'État. The latter alleged that the party violated the sacrosanct principle of secularism of the state.

In press conference, the president of the court, Hasim Kilic, said that 6 of 11 judges had travelled to the arguments of the Attorney General or one less than the number required to ensure that the request be approved.

The President of the Constitutional Court, Hasim Kilic (2nd from right)

The judges, however, have concluded that the AKP was a hotbed for militants fighting against secularism and has consequently decided to deprive him of half of public funds to which he is entitled for the current year.

The accusations of undermining the principle of secularism of the state relied mainly on the attempt by the AKP to allow university students to wear the Islamic veil. The prosecutor also argued that municipalities controlled by the AKP tried to promote an Islamic way of life, including restricting alcohol sales.

Such cases are highly controversial in Turkey, a country whose citizens are predominantly Muslim, while remaining committed to the principle of secularism institutions established by the founder of the state, Kemal Ataturk.

Over the years, the Constitutional Court has banned more than two dozen parties from the Islamist movement, but none of them had popular support for the AKP. The party was re-elected with 47% of the votes in the summer of 2007, after a battle with the opposition and the army, which focused specifically on the secularism of the state.

The judgement was greeted with relief by the AKP, the European Union and financial markets.

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Labels: Francis Chartrand, Secularism, Turkey

# posted by Francis Chartrand @ 11:17 AM