Huge rally for Turkish secularism
Pastor Dale Morgan
*Huge rally for Turkish secularism*
Hundreds of thousands of people have rallied in Istanbul in support of
secularism in Turkey, amid a row over a vote for the country's next
president.
The protesters are concerned that the ruling party's candidate for the
post remains loyal to his Islamic roots.
The candidate, Abdullah Gul, earlier said he would not quit despite
growing criticism from opponents and the army.
Mr Gul failed to win election in a first round parliamentary vote which
opponents say was unconstitutional.
Opposition MPs boycotted the vote. They are also challenging its
validity in the Constitutional Court.
An army statement on Friday accused the government of tolerating radical
Islam and vowed to defend secularism.
Business leaders have also issued a statement calling on the court to
annul the vote, paving the way for early elections.
The influential TUSIAD association said a vote was necessary "to
preserve the inseparable principles of democracy and secularism".
Mr Gul has steered Turkey's European Union accession talks as foreign
minister and is seen as less confrontational than Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan, the leader of his Islamist-rooted Justice and
Development (AK) party.
"The president must be loyal to secular principles. If I am elected, I
will act accordingly," he said after his nomination for the presidency.
But some analysts say he is closer to his religious roots, and his wife
would be the first First Lady to wear a headscarf, a deeply divisive
statement in Turkey.
'Test case'
The BBC's Sarah Rainsford says secularists are concerned that if he is
elected, the AK party will control the presidency, the government and
parliament.
We want neither Sharia, nor a coup, but a fully democratic Turkey
Sunday's "Republican Meeting", planned by dozens of non-governmental
organisations, took place in Caglayan Square in Istanbul.
"Turkey is secular and will remain secular," shouted demonstrators from
all over the country as they waved flags and pictures of Mustafa Kemal
Ataturk, the founder of the Turkish Republic.
"We want neither Sharia, nor a coup, but a fully democratic Turkey,"
they added.
Many sang nationalist songs and called for the government's resignation.
Our correspondent describes the rally as an enormous show of force. More
than 300,000 people attended a similar event two weeks ago.
On Saturday, AK spokesman Cemil Cicek responded to Friday's unusually
forthright army statement, saying any intervention was inconceivable in
a democratic state.
The military, which led coups in the past, said it was concerned by the
party's choice of presidential candidate.
History of coups
Our correspondent in Istanbul says the army statement late on Friday
night caused a real stir in Turkey.
Many also believe that it is also a message to the judges in the
constitutional court to declare the vote invalid and dissolve
parliament, she adds.
The army has carried out three coups in the last 50 years - in 1960,
1971 and 1980 - and in 1997 it intervened to force Turkey's first
Islamist Prime Minister, Necmettin Erbakan, from power.
The AK is an offshoot of Mr Erbakan's Welfare Party, which was banned in
1998.
The secularist Republican People's Party (CHP), which boycotted Friday's
vote, said it would challenge the election in court because a quorum of
MPs had not been obtained - a charge the AK denies.
A second round of voting is due on Wednesday and the court has said it
will try to rule on the appeal before the vote.