President Abdullha Gül emphasized the need for a new constitution in an announcement made to journalists on his flight to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) in Strasbourg. He said that a new constitution would have to be "a constitution of the coming century". Regarding the discussion of the presidential system (contrary to the parliamentary system in Turkey), he stated that there were a number of drawbacks to consider.
President Gül claimed that it was not the right way to amend problematic provisions of the current constitution item by item.
Gül drew attention to the importance of reconciliation criteria in the new constitution. "It has to be a constitution that resembles the constitutions of the most advanced, democratic and developed countries", he said. Too many details would be restrictive to freedom, he added.
"Non-governmental organizations have to be heard"
The president also mentioned his views on the preparatory stage of the new constitution. He indicated that a new constitution should be prepared by involving a broad spectrum of participants. That kind of constitution would be accepted more easily, he said. He explained that the constitution would be drafted by the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM), but that proposals made by constitution experts from non-governmental organizations or political parties could be considered as well.
The current constitution was enforced in 1982 after the military coup in 1980. Gül mentioned that he liked the comparison of the 1982 Constitution with a "strait jacket Turkey was put in by the military government".
Defence in mother tongue for defendants who do not know Turkish
President Gül has represented Turkey at the PACE for the past nine years. In his speech at the assembly, he announced that a defence in Kurdish could be done.
In reference to the KCK trials regarding the Democratic Confederation of Kurdistan (KCK) , the umbrella organisation that includes the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), opened in the south-eastern cities of Diyarbakır, Van and Adana, Gül stated, "We want the court to decide quickly". He declared that defendants who do not know the Turkish language could present their defence in the language they know. He added that also the courts agreed to that.
When Gül said in his speech at the PACE that he "did not accept allegations of genocide", he reiterated his call for a joint commission. He said that the countries voting in favour of the recognition of genocide do not know much about the issue.
Reservations on presidential system
In relation to the discussion of a presidential system, Gül commented, "Of course I look at it with reservation". He added that the system had advantages and disadvantages and that these could be discussed.
Kurdish instead of Turkish name
At a visit to Bitlis in the pre-dominantly Kurdish region of south-eastern Turkey on 8 August 2009, Gül used the Kurdish name Norşin for the district of Güroymak when he addressed the public with a short speech.
At a visit to Diyarbakır (south-east) in December 2010, Gül was asked if he would speak in Kurdish. The president replied, "I don't know Kurdish. If I knew the language, why should I not speak it?" At a dinner in the course of the same visit, he sang along with the other guest when they sang a Kurdish folk song.
In an announcement made in May 2009, Gül had said the developments in the Kurdish question could improve and that this opportunity should not be missed. (AS/EÖ)
Sources: ntvmsnbc, CNN Türk, Milliyet websites.
