Erdogan attempt to convince the military establishment into accepting the new bill

By Sa’ad Abdul-Majid, IOL Ankara

ANKARA, May 22 (IslamOnline.net) - The Turkish army expressed opposition to a government bill calling for the introduction of political and democratic reforms to the constitution that would benefit the Kurdish minority.

Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan met with Chief of Staff Hilmi Ozkouk in an effort to convince him into accepting the bill, due to be presented to the parliament within coming few days, the Milliyet daily reported on Wednesday, May 21.

The two sides probed at the one-hour meeting parts of the bill which Turkey had earlier committed to the European Union to introduce over next few years.

The talks came after the army-controlled Turkish National Council secretary lodged a complaint against the some changes proposed by the bill.

The Council made the complaint about the bill’s call for “changing the eighth article of the Anti-terrorism Act and allowing non-Turkish language television and radio shows to beam on the country’s airwaves,” Millyet reported.

The article bans issuing any written or aired statements during demonstrations or other kinds of gatherings or holding meetings which call for dividing the country. Those who violate the article face three to five years in prison and 100-300 million liras in fines.

The new bill also allows foreign observers to keep an eye on the general elections in Turkey.

Amnesty

During their meeting, Erdogan and Ozkouk reportedly discussed granting amnesty to Kurdish fighters inside and outside Turkey to be added to the new bill.

But Turkish Minister of Justice Cemil Cicek dismissed the report after his talks with the U.S. ambassador here.

Asked if his government has made changes to the text of the bill after the protests of the military establishment, Cicek said, “We will see this together on Thursday.”

“The ministry benefited from viewpoints of government institutions when the bill was drawn to introduce modifications to 10 laws in the country’s institution,” he added.