Sezer vetoes legislation for illegal Koran courses

President Ahmet Necdet Sezer has vetoed the amendment to the Penal Code which reduces punishments for schools belonging to religious sects and also unregistered Koran courses. Upon Sezer’s veto on the two articles, the remaining 38 articles have also been suspended. Sezer has returned the legislation, part of the new Penal Code which became active as of June 1, to the parliament for further negotiation.Explaining his legal grounds for vetoing Article 29 on illegal educational institutions, Sezer noted: “Provisions of the previous legislation aim towards preventing setting up schools which are funded by fundamentalist sects and separatist terrorist groups.” “The mission of the State is to eradicate such institutions, not to encourage them. The State has to take legal precautions for such schools before they are even founded. Shutting down of these schools cannot be left at the mercy of their administrators. Such an attitude is contradictory to the spirit of the rule of law and will encourage such actions.” Article 3, on the other hand, gave the Ministry of Justice partial authority over the trial of crimes committed outside Turkey. Sezer thought this could be misused for “personal and political purposes” and vetoed the article. As a result of Sezer’s veto on the two articles, the remaining 38 have also been suspended. Vetoed articles will first be dealt with at the Commission for Justice and then in the General Assembly. If the vetoed articles are passed by the parliament for a second-time without any amendments, Sezer will not be able veto them once again.  �