SABAH- Columnist Gungor Mengi writes on the leaders’ summit to take place at the Presidential Palace today. A summary of his column is as follows:
If sovereignty is unconditionally vested in the people, the Parliament has to pave the road to the EU. There are enough votes in the TGNA to reach the target a great majority of the people is supporting. The gathering of the party leaders by President Sezer aims to underline this fact. Our time to be prepared to begin accession negotiations with the EU has grown short. The obstacles to abolition of the death penalty and to broadcasting in Kurdish have to be lifted this month since the Parliament will enter summer recess in July. There don’t seem to be any parties opposing the steps which will pave the way to the EU, with the notable exception of the Nationalistic Action Party (MHP). Can the MHP try to impose the views of the minority by threatening to break the coalition? This would indeed carry great risks for MHP leader Bahceli because the move towards the EU is more important for Turkey than the continuation of this government. The MHP wants to enter the elections as the party resisting abolition of the death penalty because of Ocalan and as a partner in a government which has reached a calendar to begin accession negotiations. The True Path Party (DYP) wants to exploit the illness of the prime minister and the discord created by the MHP to bring this government down and take a place in a new government to be formed. The leader of the DYP wanted the issue of the government to be discussed during today’s summit, however she is mistaken in the address where the issue should be debated. The correct place to discuss the government is the Parliament. Ciller added that it would not be acceptable if the prime minister did not attend the summit and that even if he did, it would not mean that the weakness in the coalition had ended. This primitive, irresponsible policy aimed at distorting a summit meeting relating to the future of Turkey has once more demonstrated to the people that the DYP leader is not going to mend her ways. This experience shows the fact that unless the Election and Political Parties’ laws are amended, nothing will change easily in Turkey.
SOURCE: OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER, DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF PRESS AND INFORMATION