ANKARA - A Turkish political party made on Tuesday a verbal defense against closure charges.
Members of Turkey`s Democratic Society Party (DTP) participated in a hearing at Turkey`s top court, and verbally defended their party in the ongoing closure case.
Abdurrahman Yalcinkaya, the chief prosecutor of the Supreme Court of Appeals, applied to the Constitutional Court on November 16th, 2007 asking the court to closure the party.
In his indictment, Yalcinkaya said that the speeches and actions by the members of DTP proved that the party had become a focal point of activities against the sovereignty of the state and indivisible unity of the country and the nation.
"We have tried to express the problems we are facing today since the laws and policies in practice do not contribute to solution of the issue," Ahmet Turk, the chairman of the party, told reporters after the three-hour verbal defense in the Turkish capital of Ankara.
Turk said that the DTP wanted the top court to deal with the case, by taking into consideration contemporary values, universal law, international conventions and the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).
The chairman said that he tried to show how the Turkish constitution contradicted international law, and told reporters that he "believed that their party would solve problems with democratic and civilian methods."
Turk said that the DTP was a party that was working for a democratic future in Turkey, and told reporters that closure of a party that gained votes of 2 million people would cause a disappointment.
The DTP chairman said that the party did not have any organic link with the terrorist organization PKK.
According to the Constitution, at least 7 of the 11 members of the court have to vote for closure in order for the court to shut down a political party.
(BRC-CE)
(GEN)