16 October 2011, Sunday / NOAH BLASER, ISTANBUL
Drafting a civil constitution is a formidable yet vital step on the road from totalitarian rule to a democratic government, said foreign constitution experts at the “On the Way to a New Constitution” conference, which was held at Istanbul’s Bilgi University on Saturday.
The experts, who revisited the experiences of constitution-making in their home countries of Germany, Spain, Poland and South Africa, discussed how their respective constitutions have helped to create free and democratic societies in formerly totalitarian states. In the words of one expert, a civil constitution can act as a “soft vengeance” against the past injustices of totalitarian rule.
The experts’ words come at a time when Turkey is attempting to draft its own civil constitution to replace the 1982 Constitution, a long-criticized document that was ushered into law during the period of martial law which followed the 1980 coup.
Above all, the panel of experts stressed that drafting a constitution must be an inclusive process which works to secure the legal equality for all citizens. “If the constitution is the autobiography of our nation, we have to incorporate all of our people, the entire history of our nation. No one should be able to say, ‘That’s not my constitution’,” said Albie Sachs, a South African rights activist and former judge on the Constitutional Court of South Africa.
Sachs, who lost an arm and was blinded in his left eye when government security forces planted a bomb in his car in 1988, embodies the long struggle for rights which marked South Africa’s struggle against apartheid rule in the ‘90s.
According to Sachs, South Africa’s 1996 constitution is proof that the process of constitution-making can be successful even in times of intense social division. “We had to create the idea that different outlooks and identities can give a diversity, creativity and texture to a country,” he stated.
In turn, Sachs believes that the constitution’s success in securing rights for all citizens regardless of race or sexual orientation has helped South Africa overcome its past oppression. “I feel that we have achieved what I call my ‘soft vengeance.’ It is more beautiful than any ordinary punishment. It has been a huge transformation for our country that validates everything we went through,” he said.
Other speakers at the conference, including former German Justice Minister Herta Däubler-Gmelin, Professor Carles Viver Pi-Suñer of Barcelona University and Polish Professor Miroslaw Wyrzykowski, spoke on their own constitutions’ successes and failures in securing minority rights and nurturing civil democracies.
Turgut Tarhanli, a law professor at Bilgi University, stated during a panel discussion that Turkey must now face its own past, “revisiting from a freedom and rights perspective the Kenan Evren [Constitution], which ignored the law of elections and criminal procedural law.”
Panelist Wyrzykowski echoed Tarhanli’s call for a constitution which better protects the rule of law. Alluding to a solider who was recently tortured and killed by his superiors while in Cyprus, Wyrzykowski stated: “I dedicate my words to Ugur Kantar. If the coming constitution fails to address such injustices through a strengthened rule of law, then it has not addressed Turkey’s deepest needs.”
Erdogan: New constitution must be based on social contract
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said during an address to lawmakers of his Justice and Development Party (AK Party) in the town of Kizilcahamam, near Ankara, on Saturday that the new constitution must be made with an understanding of a social contract that ensures and guarantees the rights of every Turkish citizen.
Noting that the future of the republic depends on more democracy, which reflects the will of the people, Erdogan said the constitution means ensuring the rule of law as a primary task and underlining major points while leaving details to regulations and amendments.
http://www.todayszaman.com/news-260063-constitutional-experts-soft-vengeance-of-democracy-can-overcome-tyranny.html