Istanbul Bar Association President İbrahim Kaboğlu on 'Constitution' and 'Öcalan': 'It feels like there is a scent of political blackmail'

The new Istanbul Bar Association President, Prof. Dr. İbrahim Kaboğlu, had made a highly controversial statement, suggesting that positive touches could be made to the unchangeable articles of the constitution.

'IT POINTS TO VERY SERIOUS LEGAL CHANGES'

Making evaluations on Sözcü TV, Prof. Dr. Kaboğlu said the following:

It was not a surprise for me; I am not going back to 2002. He is the person who ensured the 2004 election was moved up to 2002. In 2016, he said, "The President is not complying with the Constitution." The prime minister of the time pressed the button and the Constitution was changed.

Bahçeli said that at the time, and then in 2018, the Constitutional order came into effect. Bahçeli was saying, "Throw this out." He was telling the Constitutional Court, "If you don't shut it down, we will shut you down."

Can Atalay is in prison, Osman Kavala is in prison, Selahattin Demirtaş is in prison. They are in prison and there are court rulings, there are Constitutional Court and ECHR rulings, and they are not being released. Why doesn't he say anything about them, or why did they tie the hands of the Speaker of the Parliament?

In what capacity? Even if the constitutional amendment he calls the 'Right to Hope' does not happen, it points to very serious legal changes.

When asked by Senem Toluay Ilgaz, "Even if there is no practical outcome, for such rhetoric to come from Bahçeli means he is taking a huge political risk. Why would he say this if there is no de facto outcome?" Prof. Dr. Kaboğlu responded as follows:

"The Constitutional Court was not shut down, but it was rendered effectively dysfunctional. We don't know what is in the background. Such serious issues, issues that concern the future of society, should be discussed in Parliament, not at a group meeting. As a constitutional lawyer and political scientist; the person speaking is not authorized in the first place. How is he speaking on behalf of Parliament?

It feels to me like there is a scent of political blackmail here. As a lawyer, I avoid reading intentions, but...

It is an attempt to both send a message to society with the rhetoric that he wants peace, to divide the party he is addressing, and to make it appear as if he wants a process that is not easy to carry out.

The situations of Demirtaş and Öcalan are very, very different.

First of all, we need to talk about Demirtaş here."

Kaboğlu also emphasized political blackmail regarding Bahçeli's statement on the 'Right to Hope'.

STATEMENT ON THE FIRST 4 ARTICLES OF THE CONSTITUTION

Kaboğlu also responded to the MHP leader's remarks directed at him: "The fact that those who cannot stomach our National Anthem are running rampant in the Istanbul Bar Association No. 1 elections on October 20, 2024, that a former CHP deputy who was dismissed by decree (KHK) and whose background is unclear was elected president, and that he mentioned making positive touches to the first four articles of the Constitution in his speech, is beyond a scandal and shows that a new trap is being set.

It is our specific warning and advice that this person, whose inner and outer self has turned into a cauldron of sedition and mischief, should pass through the filter of reason, common sense, and his rotten ideology how the first four articles of the Constitution could be touched upon positively or negatively, and what would or would not happen in the event of such an attempt."

He used insulting words about me; I will take legal action. He has confirmed my words about political blackmail.

I thank my lawyer colleagues. I wish we could have talked about our program today; I am not going into '95. During the 2001 amendment, that is, during the Ecevit, MHP, and ANAP coalition, no part of the Constitution's thought and consideration was turned into any activity. This is what I mean by a positive change. In Article 14, the concept of a democratic and secular Republic based on human rights was included; I am saying this is what is positive.

Regarding the reactions to his comments on the 4 articles, Kaboğlu noted the following:

I did not have the opportunity to touch upon this. That was left incomplete. I decided to complete those words so that they wouldn't say, 'Kaboğlu says unchangeable articles can be changed' if I didn't say anything.

Kaboğlu stated that he did not mean for the first 4 articles to be changed and that he wanted to strengthen these articles with other changes to be made. Prof. Dr. Kaboğlu also stated that Article 4 cannot be ignored.