Rice calls for respect of Turkey's secular democracy

17/04/2008

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice urges respect for Turkey's "secular democratic principles", in light of a controversial court case to shut down the ruling party.

By Ayhan Simsek for Southeast European Times -- 17/04/08

The US is monitoring the legal process regarding efforts to close Turkey’s ruling AKP, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Tuesday (April 15th). [Getty Images]

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice addressed the 27th meeting of the American-Turkish Council (ATC) in Washington on Tuesday (April 15th), saying that Washington is closely following the court case against the ruling Islamist-rooted Justice and Development Party (AKP). "We believe and hope that this [case] will be decided within Turkey's secular democratic context and by its secular democratic principles," Rice said.

Turkey's chief prosecutor accused the AKP last month of being a "focal point for anti-secular activities" and sought a ban on its leading members, including Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso has criticised the case and urged Turkey's highest court to consider European standards in rendering judgment. Rice, however, used a more cautious approach. Expressing confidence in Turkey's democracy, she emphasised secular principles, as well as the public's free will.

"The Turkish people, the Turkish voters, will resolve the difficulties before them within their secular democratic context," Rice said.

She also urged Ankara to amend Article 301, a law against "insulting Turkishness" that prosecutors have used against dozens of writers, including Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk. "We continue to encourage Turkey to recognise and protect the civil rights of all religious and ethnic groups, such as by re-opening the Ecumenical Patriarch's Halki seminary as a vocational school," she said.

The ATC, one of the two countries' major forums, aims to strengthen Turkish-US relations by promoting commercial, military, technological and cultural relations. Turkish Defence Minister Vecdi Gönül, Turkish Lieutenant General Hilmi Akin Zorlu and US Lieutenant General John Sattler participated in the forum.

Reiterating support for Turkey's fight against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), Rice stressed that the US and its European partners are working to eliminate the terrorist group's safe haven in northern Iraq and to cut off its criminal and financial networks in Europe.

Sattler urged Turkish decision-makers to apply more than solely military tools against the PKK and to "develop a comprehensive approach and reach out to the Kurdish population". He said that he was not advocating a general amnesty for the PKK, but rather a strategy of splitting its hard-core members from those who might return to peaceful lives.

The three-day conference also focused on bilateral economic ties. Turkish Minister of State for Foreign Trade Kürşad Tüzmen remarked that opportunities for both nations' firms are promising and that more US companies are moving their regional headquarters to Turkey.

According to Tüzmen, 834 such firms have invested 5.8 billion euros in Turkey.