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President of High Constitutional Court Thinks Turkey Does Not Need Brand New Constitution
 As PM Erdogan puts the last touches on a new constitution drawn by AKP, president of Turkey’s highest court Hasim Kilic said that Turkey does not need a brand new constitution. In his interviews with the business daily Referans and the mainstream daily Milliyet, Kilic suggested that by making amendments to certain articles that need change, the existing constitution can satisfactorily be modified. The current constitution that was adopted following the September 12, 1980 military coup has already been largely altered with amendments made to 84 articles that needed to be harmonized with EU standards. For Kilic, complete annulment of the constitution and creating a brand new one was not only impractical, but might pave the way for trouble in Turkey. Highly concerned by current efforts to draft a new constitution that might cause serious rifts, Kilic said a parliamentary committee for reconciliation should be formed with collective participation of all political parties, to draft the necessary amendments in a way that everybody agrees to. “We don’t need further disputes and conflicts in this sensitive atmosphere” he said. Hasim Kilic whose wife wears an Islamic headscarf, was recently appointed by Abdullah Gul as president of the High Constitutional Court. Source: Referans, Milliyet, Turkish Daily News, January 17, 2008
Posted at: 2008-01-17
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