Thursday, September 16, 2010

Turkey politics: Trial of strength

"Turkey politics: Trial of strength--UPDATE
September 13th 2010

Turkish voters have approved by referendum constitutional reforms proposed by the religiously conservative Justice and Development Party (AKP) government. Although the AKP has presented the changes as necessary for EU integration, their main purpose is to strengthen the government in its long-running struggle against Turkey's secularist/nationalist elites, including the military and the sections of the judiciary. The scale of the referendum win is a boost for the AKP and a setback for opposition parties, which may now be forced to reconsider their approach to the mid-2011 parliamentary election."

More:ViewsWire