11/01/2010 President
Strasbourg, 11.01.2010 – “The legacy of party closures in Turkey remains a source of concern,” the President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), Lluís Maria de Puig stressed, referring to the recent closure of the Democratic Society Party (DTP) following a decision of the Turkish Constitutional Court.
The President expressed the hope that this decision would not undermine the authorities’ positive steps in favour of reconciliation. “We very much welcome and support these initiatives and encourage the government to pursue its activities in support of the democratic functioning of Turkey’s institutions and the consolidation of its modernisation and reform process,” he said. He encouraged all political actors in Turkey to pursue peaceful reconciliation and democratic modernization of the country.
Mr de Puig re-iterated PACE’s call that the Turkish authorities speed up the preparation of amendments to the Constitution, as well as the review of the law on political parties, to bring these into line with the recommendations of the Council of Europe’s Venice Commission and the case law of the European Court of Human Rights. He concluded by stressing that PACE would closely monitor further developments in that respect.