T Turkish courts are poised to begin proceedings in a landmark case that could see the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) forced to disband, effectively stripping the country of its government.  “We had a Sharia-based system during Ottoman times” states Omer Faruk Eminagaoglu, chairman of Yarsav “Our society still has traces of it. We don’t want to go back to that”. The AKP have been in power in Turkey since 2002 and were successfully re-elected last year after claiming 47% of the vote. However, should the constitutional court approve Yarsav’s challenge, judges could outlaw the party and bar around 71 AKP politicians, including the incumbent President and Prime Minister, from further participation in party politics. Although Yarsav cite a number of separate AKP policies in their indictment of the party, the current crisis is thought to stem from one particular incident- a constitutional amendment revoking a ban on the wearing of headscarves within academic institutions- that was put forward earlier this year. To many secularists, headscarves symbolise a politicisation of Islam, and hence grave indications of the AKP’s long-term agenda. Although the government later rescinded the amendment it set in motion an unprecedented “retaliation” by secular Turks: “Turkey isn’t an Islamic country" insists Eminagaoglu "it’s a democratic country”. This is certainly an image that has latterly been conveyed to the rest of the world, particularly within Europe. Few would argue that, like so many other states on the margins of Europe, Turkey would very much like to become an EU member-state, thus gaining further acceptance on the international stage. Secular values have long been regarded as intrinsic to these ambitions, yet the EU’s stance to the legal action is somewhat at odds with what Yarsav might have expected. European officials have labelled attempts to outlaw and oust the AKP as undemocratic. Ironically, Yarsav’s attempts to defend secular values could undermine Turkish aspirations of EU membership. For their part the AKP have professed innocence to the charges laid against them and dismiss the court case as an impasse created by an “elitist group”. Within party ranks however it is thought that there is an air of self-recrimination regarding the way in which certain policies have been presented and pursued. The constitutional court hearings open today.  Tim Tonkin, The Cheers NewsTAGS: Politics  Turkey AKP Secularists
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