Turkish MPs and ministers cast their votes

By Sa’ad Abdul Majid, IOL Correspondent

ISTANBUL , May 9 (IslamOnline.net) – The Turkish parliament has passed a package of constitutional amendments, paving the way for membership talks with the expanding European Union.

The set, put forward by the governing Justice and Development Party (AK), was approved by 457 votes against eight.

The amendments scrapped state security courts and the death penalty.

They banned the confiscation of media and press equipment and curtailed the influence of the powerful military on education.

The discordant note was struck by a proposal put forward by the left-wing Republican Party (CTP), which called for a "positive discrimination" for women on par with the American and German constitutions.

The AK, which has a clear majority of 386 in the 550-seat legislature, rejected the suggestion, asserting that the constitution already puts women and men on equal footing.

Foreign Minister and Acting Prime Minister Abdullah Gul cast his vote behind-the-scene.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan was unable to attend the extraordinary session as he paid a historic visit to Greece , the first by a Turkish premier in 16 years.

The parliament gave its initial nod to the package on May 4 with 514 voting in favor.

Milestone

Justice Minister and government spokesman Cemil Cicek described the vote as a "milestone" in the history of Turkey .

"The constitution of 1982 is no longer applicable and needs to be changed," he said.

Burhan Kusu, the head of the Legislative Committee, said the amendments are significant.

On May 4, Erdogan told Turkey ’s Anadolu news agency that his country would reach the most advanced democratic standards inside and outside the euro bloc.

"The more valuable the benefits Turkey would gain as it became an E.U. member, the more valuable E.U.'s benefits from this membership would be," he said.

The amendments package is the eighth to be introduced to the parliament since 2001, when Ankara pledged to the E.U. to champion sweeping political, social and democratic reforms.

Several European countries have asserted that Ankara should first improve its record on human rights and reduce the military's influence over public life before mooting its E.U. membership bid.

The E.U. is expected to decide whether to open entry talks with Turkey in its summit to be held in December 2004.

On May 1, the Czech Republic , Cyprus , Estonia , Hungary , Latvia , Lithuania , Malta , Poland , Slovakia and Slovenia swelled the ranks of the euro family into 25 members.

By welcoming 75 million citizens, the E.U., established in 1957, has now a population of some 455 million people, making it the third largest populated region after China and India .