Supreme Court Of Appeals Chief Prosecutor Requests Treasury Funding To Ak Party Be Cut Off

ANKARA - Supreme Court of Appeals Chief Prosecutor Sabih Kanadoglu said on Tuesday that he requested the Constitutional Court to deprive Justice and Development Party (AK Party) of Treasury assistance instead of closing the party.
Kanadoglu made verbal statements in the Constitutional Court related with the lawsuits filed for closure of AK Party and Turkish Communist Party (TKP).
When leaving the Constitutional Court, Kanadoglu told reporters that he filed a lawsuit for closure of the two parties on charges that they did not abide by the warnings.
When a reporter said that the warning made to the parties did not have any legal base due to amendments to Political Parties Law and Deputy Election Law and asked if he touched on the issue during his verbal statement, Kanadoglu said, ''of course, closure is out of question due to these amendments. But, I don't agree with the view that they are left without sanctions. That is, when a constitutional order is violated, legal result occurs. What should be protected here is the binding status of the decision of the Constitutional Court and non-violation of the legal order. If this violation creates legal result, amendments made afterwards will not legalize this legal violation.''
When a reporter said that article 104 of the Political Parties Law was amended in a way that closure cases would not be filed against political parties which did not fulfil the requirement of the warning but they would be cut off Treasury funding and asked how he evaluated this issue, Kanadoglu said, ''of course, there is not any condition for the closure case. But, there is now the punishment to partially or totally cut off the Treasury funding to the party.''
Kanadoglu said that he reiterated his views regarding the merits of the case in the closure case of TKP.
Sabih Kanadoglu had asked for cancellation of the word ''communist'' from the name of the party under the Article 96 of the Political Parties Law which regulated the names of the parties. Kanadoglu had requested that a decision should be made for rejection of the closure case against the party since there would not be any reason for the lawsuit in case the word ''communist'' was cancelled.
Kanadoglu said, ''closure of a party only because there was the expression communist in its name by leaving aside the by-law, program and actions in regard to the form of the communism today is not legal and it is against the Constitution.''
(BRC-AÖ) 25.03.2003