TURKEY: Turkey's ruling party backed away yesterday from a proposal to criminalise adultery, bowing to pressure from civil rights groups and opposition MPs and growing opposition to the plan in the European Union.
Conservative elements in the Islamic-rooted Justice and Development party (AKP) of Prime Minister Mr Recep Tayyip Erdogan wanted to include the proposal in a set of changes to the penal code that went before parliament yesterday. But the government agreed that only amendments to the code agreed with the opposition would be included.
Mr Erdogan and other government officials had defended the adultery measure as a means to protect vulnerable women. But it had threatened to stoke opposition to Turkey's EU membership among EU member-states that harbour doubts about the country's European credentials.
Civil rights groups demonstrated outside parliament as the debate got under way, complaining that other clauses in the penal code discriminated against women or intruded into personal lives.
But analysts said the government appeared to have undercut criticism of the amendments by dropping the adultery measure.
The European Commission is due to report on the country's progress on October 6th and EU governments will decide in December on whether to set a date for membership talks.
Mr Erdogan has backed down before from pursuing controversial legislation unacceptable to sections of public opinion in Turkey.
Political analysts said the adultery measure may have been forced on him by arch-conservatives in the AKP and a small Islamic party that is influential with Muslim opinion but is not represented in parliament. They said it was too early to say what the consequences of the climbdown might be, although it was unlikely to end the debate about whether such legislation was necessary. AKP officials did not immediately return calls seeking comment.
The decision to drop the measure was greeted with relief by Turkish and European officials. "This proposal was a momentary lapse of reason, which we hope has now passed," said a Turkish official.
The government had argued that outlawing adultery would empower women, protect the family and discourage the illegal but common custom of taking a second wife in a religious marriage.
Critics say women in Turkey's conservative heartland would be unlikely to use the law for fear of ostracism or violence, and would have no income if their husbands were jailed.
The episode illustrates the EU's influence over countries that wish to join the Union. The matter threatened to overshadow Turkey's entire entry process this week. Even Britain, Turkey's biggest supporter within the EU, said that, if the measure became law, it "would create difficulties" for the country's EU hopes.