ISTANBUL: Turkey’s governing party has made backup plans in case the Constitutional Court closes it down for Islamist activities, a senior member said yesterday. The Justice and Development Party (AKP) is on trial on charges of trying to introduce Islamic rule in Turkey, a predominantly Muslim but officially secular state.
A chief prosecutor wants the party, which has roots in political Islam, to be barred and 71 leading figures, including Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, banned from party membership for five years.
“If the party is closed there are B and C plans but they will only come into effect if necessary,” party’s deputy chairman Saban Disli told reporters, according to the state Anatolian news agency.
Disli did not give details. “We are rather hopeful, in contrast to the expectations of some circles... My expectation is that the closure case will be resolved in favor of our party and country,” Disli said.
Meanwhile, Armenian President Serzh Sarksyan yesterday called for closer ties with Turkey, 15 years after the two nations severed diplomatic relations over the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. They are also at odds over the question of whether ethnic Armenians killed by Ottoman Turks during World War I were victims of genocide.
