ANKARA (Agencies)
The death toll in a bombing in Istanbul rose to 17 on Monday while around 150 were wounded, state-run Anatolian news agency reported, just hours before Turkey's top court begins deliberations on whether to ban the ruling party.
Turkey's politicians, the European Union and foreign investors are anxiously awaiting a verdict in the case which has drawn Turkey into a period of political uncertainty, hurting financial markets and slowing its reform process.
Closure of the ruling party would almost certainly lead to an early election, possibly in November, and deal a further blow to Turkey's hopes of joining the EU.
It has also deepened divisions between the Islamist-rooted government and an elite of military, judicial and academic officials who regard themselves as the custodians of the NATO member's secular system.
"We can see the closure case ... as the final legal measure that can be taken by the establishment against political Islam's anti-secular activities," said Kadri Gursel, a columnist in the liberal Milliyet daily.
The court agreed in March to take up the case seeking to close the party and ban Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, President Abdullah Gul and 69 major AK Party officials from party membership for five years. The party rejects the charges.
In Sunday's second installment of an interview with Hurriyet newspaper, Erdogan rejected suggestions that he would adopt a more dictatorial style if the AK Party survives closure.
"God willing there will be a beneficial verdict for our country. What I can say is that it is impossible for me to ever behave with hate or enmity towards my people," Erdogan said.
He acknowledged for the first time in the interview that the party made mistakes which contributed to the current crisis. |
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Terror attack Meanwhile, Istanbul’s governor Muammer Guler downplayed speculation that rebels of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) were responsible for the overnight blasts, saying it was too early to say who was to blame.
He said officials would study the images from surveillance cameras near the scene.
"There is no doubt that this was a terrorist attack," Anatolia news agency quoted him as telling journalists at the site of the attack.
"There were two devices (...) Both were in rubbish containers," he said.
The attack came amid high tensions after an Istanbul court decided on Friday to put 86 people on trial for allegedly plotting to overthrow the country's Islamist-rooted government. The trial is to open on October 20. |
