Authorities in Turkey warn against forming Islamic parties

The authorities in Turkey have again warned that they will not tolerate attempts to form parties based on Islamic ideas.

President Suleiman Demirel said the Constitutional Court's decision last week to close the Islamic Welfare Party should teach everyone a lesson.

He added that all parties that were going to be formed from now on should be more aware of the Constitutional Court.

A chief prosecutor Vural Savas was quoted by the Istanbul daily,Sabah, as saying that the authorities would close down any party seeking to continue the mission of the Welfare party.

The comments came a day after a senior member of the Welfare party Lutfu Esengunsaid the party was to regroup under a new name and a new leader.

Last week, the Turkish constitutional court ordered the Welfare party to be dissolved and banned its leader, Necmettin Erbakan, from politics for five years.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service