March 29, 2008	Saturday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 20, 1429

ANKARA, March 28: Turkey’s Constitutional Court has received its rapporteur’s opinion on a bid to close the ruling AK Party for trying to undermine the country’s secular system, newspapers said on Friday.

Earlier this month a chief prosecutor asked the court to shut the party on the ground that it was trying to create an Islamic state in secular but predominantly Muslim Turkey. The AK Party, which has Islamic roots, denies the charge.

The court’s chairman said on Thursday that the court would begin assessing the bid to close the party on Monday providing the rapporteur presented his report by Friday.

“The completed report was distributed to (court) members last night for their consideration,” Hurriyet newspaper said.

The court has yet to decide whether to pursue the case and the rapporteur’s opinion is non-binding. Milliyet newspaper said the court was expected to decide on Monday whether to press ahead with the case.

Turkey’s secular elite, which includes the judiciary, army generals and university rectors, believes the AK Party is trying to undermine the separation of state and religion.

The prosecutor has also tried to ban 71 party officials, including Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan and President Abdullah Gul, from politics for five years for anti-secular activity.

Turkey’s financial markets have been unsettled by the prospect of months of political instability if the court takes up the case.

Hurriyet said the rapporteur’s opinion set out reasons for and against taking up the case.

“The indictment can be rejected if solid evidence of a crime cannot be gathered,” the paper quoted the report as saying.—Reuters