Speaker calls parties to join in a cease-fire

On the question of compulsory religion courses, Toptan says they do not make much sense in practice and suggests it would be much better to remove them

Veteran politician Köksal Toptan was elected as parliament speaker from the ranks of the ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, after the tense general elections last year. His nomination was welcomed by all political parties.

The consensus on his appointment was not a coincidence but an accumulation of his entire political career, one that made him a respected, trusted political figure to everyone. His views are always valued, especially at times when the political climate does not offer more than tension and instability.

Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review interviewed Toptan, number two in the state protocol, at one of these bitter times, when parties engaged in quarrels ahead of the local elections.

"Escalating political tension and straining the public to achieve political ends have brought profits neither to us nor to the world," he said, urging political parties to create suitable ground to open the way for people without causing tension.

"Every [political party leader] will gain public support only if he explains his own project and program. I am sure that common sense will emerge from the ballot box. Tension or actions recalling terror will be of no use to anyone," he said.

One of the gravest conflicts is now between the ruling AKP and the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party, or DTP, who are competing to win elections in southeastern Anatolia. The DTP is much criticized by the other parties, as it struggles to put distance between itself and the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK.

"I don't complain very much about their [the DTP deputies] work inside Parliament. They are doing their best, but it is not possible for me to approve their actions outside Parliament." He said DTP deputies would be trusted and have more successful results if they were not engaged in actions that contradicted their constitutional oath. "I share my thoughts, stemming from my experience as a former deputy and politician, with everyone and colleagues from the DTP," said Toptan.

People close parties
On the lingering closure case filed against the DTP, Toptan said in modern democracies it was the people who establish and close political parties. "But of course there are sub-conditions about political party closures under the Venice criteria. This is embraced in modern democracies as well but I believe it is not correct to shut down political parties by other means than the public," he said. DTP leader Ahmet Türk said his party would vacate seats in Parliament if the Constitutional Court closed his party.

"It would be wrong to evaluate possible results right now before the Constitutional Court issued it's ruling," said Toptan. On the Kurdish problem, Toptan said, "We, as Parliament and political parties, have no problem that can deter us from discussing it on the condition of loyalty to the basic principles of the Constitution and the Republic and to the oath we took in Parliament."

One of the deepest frustrations Parliament experienced was failure to renew the 1982 Constitution, despite the fact that all parties voiced the need to do so. Insistence by the ruling party not to cooperate with other parties in the rewrite was seen as the major reason for the failure. Toptan, too, thinks that an opportunity was missed last year, but he said he was still hopeful that after the local elections parties would establish a commission.

"The main problem is the lack of trust [among the parties]," Toptan said. "I think the problem will be overcome in the near future so that we can show progress on it ... We should not delay it, but at the same time we should not hurry up. My personal understanding is that if we cannot renew it we should at least amend it in a way to give it a modern outlook."

Religion course removed
On the question of compulsory religion courses, Toptan, former education minister, said those courses do not make much sense in practice and it could be better to remove them. "After deciding what to do on compulsory religion courses, a decision to remove the classes becomes justified," Toptan said, pointing out that the compulsory "religion course" statement in the Constitution, which is practiced as the "culture of religion and moral science," disturbs not only Alevis but also Sunnis.

Toptan, known for his firm stance on political ethics, said he also was feeling the lack of guidelines for politicians. "We need two sorts of regulations: One for how to finance the political parties and a second for ethics rules," he said. Toptan hinted that early next year he would bring together related institutions and persons for a scientific study of the issue.

He earlier indirectly invited Zahid Akman, president of the media watchdog or RT?K who has been accused of involvement in the corruption of the Germany-based Ligthhouse e.V. charity. "I do not want to open a fresh polemic on that issue. My views are known," he said.

Of the economic crisis that has started to adversely affect Turkey, Toptan said the structures that appeared after the 2001 crisis are positive and helpful. As an indirect call on the government to listen more to business circles, he called on the government and the private sector to draw a mutual roadmap. "Everybody should act with a sense of responsibility. We all should create a chance for Turkey. Thus, the private sector and the government should meet often to evaluate the conditions and draw a mutual roadmap."