Hopes fade for a new Turkish constitution
By Gulsen Solaker
ANKARA Mon Nov 18, 2013 1:23pm EST
(Reuters) - Turkey's hopes for a new constitution, meant to enshrine democratic freedoms and further distance it from the era of military coups, suffered a setback on Monday when a cross-party commission admitted defeat in drafting a new charter.
A new constitution had been one of the key pledges of Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's third term in office, meant to replace a text born of a 1980 coup which, despite numerous revisions, still bears the stamp of military tutelage.
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