Ciller's plan faces problems in parliament

Ciller's plan faces problems in parliament

By Suna Erdem

ANKARA (Reuter): Turkish Prime Minister Tansu Ciller is back at square one this week in her bid to democratize the country's constitution after a conservative alliance in parliament sniped relentlessly at her every proposal.

But analysts and diplomats say Ankara's customs unions deal with Europe is in the balance unless the government can show, and soon, concrete progress in making Turkey more democratic.

Ciller froze debate on a series of constitutional changes last Thursday after parliament voted down an amendment to give public sector workers union rights. She said it was to allow a new consensus to form but gave no time for debate to resume.

Last Thursday's vote was just the last straw -- progress on all other measures had also been painstakingly slow, despite an initial cross-party consensus to reform the constitution drawn up in 1982 by Turkey's generals, then in power.

"This was the one thing the European Parliament was expecting Turkey would manage," a Western diplomat said.

"Ciller has to have something to show...There were three options -- the release of the DEP MPs, article 8, and this. This looked to be the easiest," he added.

The other possible measures the diplomat referred to were the release of six former Turkish MPs who were jailed last year for supporting Kurdish rights, and an article in the constitution which hinders freedom of expression and has been responsible for jailing scores of writers and intellectuals.

European Union negotiators struck a customs deal with Turkey earlier this year that would give Ankara full access to European markets and is a significant stepping stone to EU membership.

But the European Parliament has still to ratify the deal and has made it clear it wants to see Turkey show, by action rather than words, it is committed to full liberal democracy.

In fact, the constitutional debate designed to achieve that has ended up throwing that commitment into question.

"It seems (local) political expediency came out tops against the advantages offered by the constitutional changes," Sedat Ergin, a columnist at Hurriyet daily, told Reuters.

On freezing the parliamentary debate, Ciller launched a bitter attack on opposition Motherland Party (ANAP) leader Mesut Yilmaz, whom she accuses of jumping ship after pledging support.

From voting on other amendments in the package, it was clear ANAP deputies -- and some from Ciller's own True Path party (DYP) -- had joined the Islamist Welfare party (RP) in blocking measures in a powerful conservative block

Ciller also faced some pressure from the other side, her liberal junior coalition partners the Republican People's Party (CHP), who occasionally tried to block measures they felt did not go far enough.

It was not clear where Ciller would go from here.

Some parliamentary analysts saw last Thursday's freezing as a tactic to scare dissenters into supporting her, but others now see little chance of the changes being completed.

"This is one of the worst constitutions in the world," political columnist Mehmet Ali Birand said. "But I don't think there will be a consensus on it now...It has become mired in the bog of domestic politics."

He said Ciller would have to focus now on the narrower goal of scrapping article 8, although some analysts say this is tougher than the process which has just broken down.

"Article 8 has become a matter of honor...It represents those tied to the old system versus the new," Birand said.

Early general elections are another option, although Ciller insists her coalition with the CHP will not split up.

ANAP is now calling for fresh elections, not due until October 1996, and the two coalition partners in the government regularly bicker.

Turkey's stock market plummeted recently when CHP ministers failed to turn up to a cabinet meeting, and grassroots supporters in the party accuse its leadership of being bullied by Ciller's party into compromising social democratic values.

Birand said Ciller would walk an election.

"In this environment, with the economy apparently improving and the fight against terror looking successful to the public, Ciller would probably walk a general election," Birand said.

At least one European diplomat was in no doubt as to what she should do if she did go to the polls and win.

"She would have to do something concrete straight afterwards," the diplomat said. "The times are past when the EU is going to be impressed by a show of strength."