Turkish PM urges unity ahead of landmark cour ruling

0 Comments | AFP, July, 2008

ANKARA (AFP) — Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan called for national unity Saturday as the country's top court prepared to decide whether to close his ruling party.

"The Turkish Republic is our firmament," he told the daily Hurriyet. "The column that supports it is union and unity; if it collapses, we will all be trapped underneath."

Erdogan also admitted that his Justice and Development Party (AKP) government had made mistakes.

"But we should be answerable to the people for that," he said. "We must restore social peace."

The Constitutional Court is to begin deliberating Monday on whether to outlaw the AKP, which won a decisive victory in legislative elections just one year ago, after prosecutors accused it of violating the principle of...