Çiçek calls on NGOs for contribution

Parliament Speaker Cemil Çiçek has sent e-mail messages to about 14,500 civic groups asking them to provide input on the process of drafting a new constitution.

He called on civic society organizations to dispatch their opinions to the Constitution Conciliation Commission by Dec. 31.

Çiçek asked the civic groups to send their opinions to the website devoted to the new constitution and said those views would be presented to the commission members.

In his message Çiçek said that despite several amendments to the 1982 Constitution, the document still carried the “shadow of military tutorship” and was senn as the “constitution of the coup.”

It is very important to receive the support and active involvement of civil society organizations, Çiçek said. “We aim to achieve success with the constitution-drafting process by mobilizing the channels of common sense and conciliation. Our expectation from you is to closely follow the charter-making process and share developments with your members, to take efficient roles in the process and dispatch your views and proposals.”