11 Sep 2010 - Controversy and confusion shroud Turkey's September 12 constitutional referendum. |
The plot lines leading up to Turkey's constitutional referendum on Sunday make for a complicated read.
On one side, the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), which opponents paint as Islamist, is urging a "yes" vote on a package of amendments that will promote individual and human rights, increase access to the courts, and decentralise judicial authority. The European Union (EU) has publicly supported the amendments.
On the other, opponents including the leaders of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and the Republican People's Party (CHP), who stake their "no" campaign on top of a legacy of Turkey's secularising and modernising founder, Kemal Ataturk, now find themselves arguing against the amendments as anti-reformists.
And Turkey's Kurds, who arguably benefit most from the proposed changes that make it more difficult to ban political parties, having seen judges repeatedly throw their own representatives out of parliament, are boycotting the entire referendum.
