TURKEY: Barring a last-minute turnaround, Turkey's government will present a law in parliament today that bans adultery and puts Ankara on a collision course with the EU it seeks to join.
The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), a conservative movement with Islamist roots, wants to criminalise adultery as part of penal code amendments that are otherwise aimed mainly at bringing it into line with European norms.
However, the idea of jailing people for conduct that in Europe would at most be handled under civil law has outraged Turkish liberals and women's groups and sparked EU warnings that it could harm Ankara's chances of a starting date for accession talks.
Belgian Foreign Minister Mr Karel De Gucht echoed warnings by EU Enlargement Commissioner Mr Günter Verheugen that it gives the impression that Muslim but firmly secular Turkey is moving towards Islamic law.
Parliament is expected to vote on the package after a few days, and with its huge AKP majority it looks sure to pass the adultery clause unless the government decides to water it down or postpone it in the face of EU disapproval. If it is passed a legal tussle will almost certainly ensue with President Ahmet Necdet Sezer, who has a record of vetoing legislation he regards as anti-secular.
The EU's verdict on Turkey is imminent - EU leaders will decide in December whether to open talks, drawing on a progress report next month by the European Commission - and many analysts are perplexed by the timing of the proposal.
"Either the AKP has no understanding of the concept of 'timing' or it is we who don't understand what is going on," commentator Mehmet Ali Birand wrote in a weekend media column.
Britain, Turkey's staunchest European supporter, said it would fight to ensure EU leaders gave the Turks a date for starting accession talks at their decisive summit in December.
"It is however the case that if this proposal . . . in respect of adultery were to become firmly fixed in law, then that would create difficulties for Turkey," British Foreign Secretary Mr Jack Straw said at the EU foreign ministers' meeting. Sweden's feminist foreign minister, Ms Laila Frevalds, called the proposed ban "very unfortunate". - (Reuters)