AKP: "A referendum on the turban would polarize the nation"

While President Abdullah Gul commented this past that he believed the proposed changes should be presented to the people of Turkey in the form of a referendum, top AKP officials have rejected this idea, with one official noting "Basic rights and freedoms cannot be a matter for voting. If 51% of society says no to these proposals, does that mean that the other 49% will be forced to give up on these freedoms? The second reason is that this is a matter which is open up to quite some political exploitation, and as such, could open the way to polarization in society."
 
In the meantime, State Supreme Court head prosecutor Sabih Kanadoglu commented this weekend that proposed changes could not be brought as a referendum before Turkish people, noting "We cannot solve the turban problem this way. In the same way, you cannot present a referendum to Turkey asking 'Should sharia be brought back?' If religion would stop using politics, this problem would solve itself. For as long as the articles protecting secularity remain in the constitution, there are no changes to it which will solve this turban problem."