Turkey Gets Away With One

Who shot me,
But your punks didn't finish
Now you 'bout to feel the wrath of a menace
--2pac

The Constitutional Court of Turkey narrowly voted against banning the ruling moderate Islamist party, the AKP:

ISTANBUL (AP) -- Turkey's top court on Wednesday narrowly decided against banning the ruling party over accusations that it was steering the country toward Islamic rule, preserving a government locked in a power struggle with the secular elite.

The Constitutional Court, however, delivered a strong -- though unspecified -- warning to the ruling Justice and Development Party and said it would be deprived of half of its funding from the state treasury.

“The decision that came out was a warning to this party. It is a serious warning,” said the court chairman Hasim Kilic. “I hope that this outcome will be assessed and that the necessary measures will be taken.”

He said six of the 11 judges wanted to ban the party of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. However, a total of seven votes were needed to ban it under court regulations.

The importance of this case was huge. If the court banned the AKP, the idea of a real muslim democracy would be in trouble. The Turkish army and its proxies in the political system have had a hate on for the AKP for a while because of its Islamist roots, and have no problem stepping in to overthrow an all too Islamic government, as in the past.

The key question going forward is what the heck happens next? Is the army going to standby as the court deals secularism a losing hand? I would suspect, given the recent history of this battle that the army may forgo the political system and move to direct action. Unfortunately. If they are intent on pissing away their chances at getting in to the EU they may just do it.

The irony is that the Kemalist undercurrents that originally brought about westernization may be the same that dismantle Turkey's official entry into the west.
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Ok you're a goon
But what's a goon to Goblin?
--Lil Wayne