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TURKEY: Constitutional reforms and revision of the Constitution

By Taxchos (ea) Minagia Christou (republished)

Constitutional reforms are expected to continue exactly as announced by the government. However, the drafting of a new Constitution will begin in the fall of 2011 after the parliamentary elections, which Erdoğan stated will be held in early June of next year. Revision of the National Security Policy Document (Red Book) The new "Red Book" On 27-10-2010, during the meeting of the National Security Council, the issue of the revision of the National Security Policy Document (Red Book) was discussed and the announcement issued stated the following: "The new National Security Policy Document is considered appropriate and it was decided that the relevant advisory decision be communicated to the Council of Ministers." According to Turkish reports, the new Red Book includes the following topics: • The impact of cyberwar threats on national security. • The instability that climate change due to global warming will cause. • The general policy that should be implemented to deal with natural disasters. • The measures that should be taken to address the problem of population aging that Turkey will face after 2049. • The impact of the strategic advantages that Turkey acquires due to the passage of energy pipelines through its territory and the interconnection of producing countries with consuming countries. • The intensification of the development of space technologies in combination with spy satellites to better serve national interests. • Russia, Greece, Iraq and Iran were removed from the list of major threats and these countries are defined as new allies with whom cooperation and a common vision are being created. • In the previous revision of the Red Book, the extension of territorial waters to 12 miles constituted a "casus belli". The new revision states: "The 12-mile problem is not defined as a major threat." • There is no change in Turkey's positions on the Cyprus issue. Reference is also made to the Kurdish entity of northern Iraq, Iran's nuclear program, and the instability caused by Israel in the Middle East due to the crisis created by the Mavi Marmara ship. Finally, the word irtica (religious regression) was completely removed from the text and replaced with "extreme religious organization". Regarding the Kurdish problem and the PKK, the Turkish Prime Minister, in view of the June 2011 elections, is trying to gain time and increase his party's percentage in southeastern Turkey, promising bold steps, given that the army does not have the power to torpedo this process and react dynamically as in the past. Erdogan's tactics aim to lower the tone and stabilize it at a level tolerable by both the Kurdish factor and the rest of Turkish society. On the other hand, the Kurds seem to desire a normal life away from military operations. However, they do not give up on claiming their basic individual freedoms and do not accept being Turkified by abandoning their Kurdish identity. Following this, and taking into account the realities that exist in Turkey, a radical solution to the Kurdish problem should be considered impossible. Turkey's current political leadership is responsible for planning and ensuring continuity in the policies it implements regarding the country's internal and external security. With the announced revision of the National Security Policy Document (Red Book), the Turkish government aims, on the one hand, to prepare the ground for the drafting of the new Constitution, by differentiating the concept of internal threats, and on the other hand, to adapt its foreign policy and security policy to the requirements of the new geopolitical data related to its regional role. It is therefore clear that the Turkish political scene in the coming period will be multidimensional and the Turkish government will have to face many serious challenges both within the country and abroad. Following this, close monitoring of developments in the neighboring country should be combined with thorough analyses and assessments, given that the alliances that are being created and may be created in the future are not certain to exist when their interests change direction. Finally, it is appropriate to highlight the phrase of the author of this article in his book entitled "The geopolitical strategy and military power of Turkey" (p. 69): "Turkey constantly demands and receives, without ever giving the return that is requested or agreed upon, except when its interests impose it."