Turkish Scholars Aspire to Democratic, Constitutional State at 3rd Abant Meeting

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Turkish Scholars Aspire to Democratic, Constitutional State at 3rd Abant Meeting

Scientists and intellectuals in Turkey exchanged ideas at the Abant Platform’s third meeting, titled “The Democratic Constitutional State.” The event took place in Bolu, Turkey, on July 21-23, 2000.

The way to overcome Turkey’s problems in the public sphere is to expand the country’s field of democratic politics, not to postpone democracy.

Final Declaration of the 3rd Abant Meeting

The meeting’s participants took the construction of a democratic and constitutional state as a starting point for discussion. From there, they considered human rights violations in Turkey, including the Turkish-Kurdish issue, torture, extrajudicial killings, disappearances, and the freedom to live according to one’s personal beliefs. At the end of the meeting, a final declaration was written that summarized the meeting’s main points.

The final declaration noted that a democratic, constitutional state should accept as fact the concept of community administration, along with the principle of the rule of law, within the framework of fundamental rights and freedoms. The state receives its legitimacy from these universal values.

In addition, the declaration asserted that a democratic, constitutional state should stop at an equal distance from all non-violent beliefs and systems of thought.

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