Turkey's Erdogan ready to change military legislation

26/07/2010

ANKARA, Turkey -- Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan indicated on Saturday (July 24th) that he may favour legislative amendments that would limit the army's right to influence politics. He invited the main opposition Republican People's Party, which has criticised the existing legislation as authoritarian, to work with the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in amending an article the army used to justify a coup 30 years ago. "We will set up a committee" to look into all aspects of the issue, and "if necessary, we will convene an extraordinary session of parliament," Erdogan told a rally in the eastern city of Bingol. He added that the amendment may be added to parliament's agenda when the session begins on October 1st.

In other news, six Turkish soldiers were injured in a landmine explosion in the southeast province of Diyarbakir on Monday. The mine, believed to have been planted by members of the terrorist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), was activated when a military vehicle passed by. (AFP, Reuters - 26/07/10; AFP, Anadolu news agency, Hurriyet - 24/07/10)

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