Speaking at a press conference prior to flying out on an official visit to Bosnia Herzegovina late Monday, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said there was no link between an indictment against his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) claiming it was a focal point for anti-secular activities and the high profile Ergenekon case.
There have been suggestions that the Ergenekon case, which has seen more than 40 people taken into custody for allegedly planning to incite civil unrest in order to promote the military to intervene to remove the AKP from office, was in fact being driven by the government in response to the closure case.
Erdogan denied that he had the powers to launch such an investigation.
“If I was that strong, I would prevent the closure case against my party” he told reporters. “It is quite wrong to put judicial and executive organs under suspicion with such a calumny. The jurisdiction has carried out its duty. That is the fact.”
The Prime Minister also said that his government was contemplating amending the constitution to change the process by which a political party could be closed. The legislative body would always use the rights it possessed concerning such issue, he said.
“The upcoming days will show us whether it will use such right or not,” said Erdogan. “We desire our country not to be faced with such issues while it is carrying out an intensive fight against terrorism and it is displaying a remarkable progress in economy.”
