Huge rally for Turkish secularism

The rally is being described as a huge show of force
Hundreds of thousands of people are rallying 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 vote in parliament as 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.

ABDULLAH GUL

1950: Born in Kayseri
1991: Elected to parliament for pro-Islamist Welfare Party
2001: One of founders of AK
2002-03: Prime minister
2003: Foreign minister, leading EU accession talks


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

Protesters at rally


In pictures: Istanbul rally

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.

What I understood from Todays Zaman story's and newspapers here is that Mr. Gül's party has enough members in parliament (350 of 550?) to change the Constitutional Law. Is that what people are afraid of?

And again, I'm not trying to get a political debate, I just want information. Maybe I see things wrongly, maybe my sources are biased? And who can inform me better than Turkish people themselves?

From what I understand, Gül has a good reputation outside Turkey (they don't portray him as religious). Even though I know he is, he doesn't come off as religious in the things he say. So why are people against him running for president?

Ok thank you, do you have a link? I have searched for the article but there are like a zillion hits for it and several newspapers named something with "Times"

Good to see you back Lapinkulta .

You know armegon,im Muslim,wearing Hijab,and i want to visit Türkiye,and when i read things like what you say i think ,Ohh My God, what would do they with me when i go to Türkiye !

Well Lapinkulta, you know how much i love Türkiye,it shows in all what i post here.
İ've heard lots of stories about how Authority treat women wearing Hijab in Türkiye, even they said they hit them,but i didnt believe it.
İf Turkish man respect women in generaly that much as i know when he treat his mother,sister,and wives too, so its not logic they hit women for wearing Hijab.

But when defending the army for forcing his opinion upon people,and attacking the government for trying to give people their choices, that made me think,is what i heard true ?!

Would i be threatened because what i wear there ?!

Anladın mı ?

Canli, threatened because of your hijab? I don't think so, you'll be one of the 60% women in Turkey who wear it (according to recent survey).

Lapinkulta, I do NOT think Turkey is not democratic. But I never have dealt with army in my life here, so I just wonder what it is in Turkey. That's all.

Stern warning from EU to the military
The European Union, which usually makes tailor-made statements on the sensitive issue of civilian-military relations in Turkey, yesterday warned the military to respect the democratic process.


The European Union, which usually makes tailor-made statements on the sensitive issue of civilian-military relations in Turkey, yesterday warned the military to respect the democratic process.


Olli Rehn, EU Commission's enlargement commissioner reacting strongly to the Chief of Staff's warning, declared that military should respect democracy. Ironically Rehn was attending a panel organized by Brussels Forum, titled "Are we losing Turkey?"

"It is important that the military leaves the remit of democracy to the democratically elected government and this is a test case if the Turkish armed forces respect democratic secularism and the democratic arrangement of civil-military relations," Rehn told reporters. Rehn said he was carefully studying the unusually sharp statement by military commanders and recalled that respect for democracy was a condition of Turkey's EU candidacy.

Brussels has insistently tackled the issue of civilian-military relations in Turkey in its yearly progress reports asking Ankara to align with the EU acquis in this sphere.

"The timing is rather surprising and strange," added Rehn. "It's important that the military respects also the rules of the democratic game and its own role in that democratic game."

Rehn said secular democracy held a very high value for the European Union and was the core of Turkey's Europeanization project, dear also to the military and to followers of the founder of the modern Turkish Republic, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.

The civilian-military relations and the fact that the Turkish military has toppled the democratically-elected governments four times in the last 50 years has been a constant tool for opponents of possible Turkish accession.

The decisions on Dec. 16-17, 2004, which paved the way for accession talks clearly say negotiations with the EU, could be suspended if democratic rules are breached. The 23 paragraph says: "In the case of a serious and persistent breach in a candidate State of the principles of liberty, democracy, respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms and the rule of law on which the Union is founded, the Commission will, on its own initiative or on the request of one third of the Member States, recommend the suspension of negotiations and propose the conditions for eventual resumption."

Canada's Foreign Minister Peter MacKay lent support to the democratic process and the rule of law in Turkey, describing his Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gül who is running for presidency, as "an extremely capable statesman and leader." MacKay also expressed his country's strong belief in the deepening of democracy in Turkey and keeping the rule of law.

Marc Grossman, a top US administration official who retired in 2005 from the US State Department where he served as undersecretary of state for political affairs, said the election of Turkish president should be according to democratic rules and Turkey's constitution. Stressing that he was speaking as a foreigner but also as a friend of Turkey, Grossmann said democracy in Turkey is deeply rooted and Turkish people were asking for a democratic society.

Asked whether the General Staff statement might lead to a process similar to the one led by the Feb. 28, 1997 incident -- described as "a post-modern coup d'état" which overthrew the coalition government of former Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan -- Grossmann said Turkey was profoundly different than 10 years ago because it was more democratic. He added that as Turkey gets closer to EU membership the civilian control of the military would increase.

Norwegian Former Foreign Minister Jan Petersen didn't think that Abdullah was a threat to secularism. "Gül, whom I know very closely and have excellent relations with, is not a threat to secularism. Despite the statement by the military, I keep my strong belief in democracy and the democratic institutions in Turkey. It is up to Parliament to decide who is going to be Turkey's next president. The military should believe in democracy," he said.

Former US Assistant Secretary of State Richard Hoolbrooke, saw the events as a major test of democracy in Turkey and that everybody should respect the democratic process. "If there is an attempt in Turkey that will be viewed as against democracy by the world, it will be a setback for Turkey's EU aspirations. It is a critical moment in Turkey's role in the world. A possible intervention will not help Turkey's critical role in one of the most volatile regions of the world. Abdullah Gül has been a very successful foreign minister," Hoolbrooke added.

As for his part, Andrew Duff, British liberal member of the European Parliament, first of all said he was surprised and slightly shocked. Defining the statement as "an extremely clumsy contribution at a sensitive stage at an extremely important democratic process," Duff added: "For the military to begin threatening integrity of a democratically-elected president would be a profound and historical mistake." He added that if the military cannot keep itself out of the democratic process, Turkey's EU integration would be blocked.

Expressing his disappointment over the statement, another member of the European Parliament, co-chair of Turkey-EU Joint Parliamentary Commission Joost Lagendijk, said that military's hardly concealed threat made the already difficult process even more complicated. He also said that it was a pressure on the Constitutional Court that would decide on the constitutionality of the election process probably some time next week. The military has put fire on oil, Lagendijk said. "Everyone in the EU is unhappy with the text and the timing. I hope politicians will be more mature than the military and not increase the tension."

Egemen Bağış, a senior member of the ruling AK Party who was in Brussels for participating in the Brussels Forum panel titled "Are We Losing Turkey?", said many of his European and American friends told him that Gül's candidacy was very positive for the EU process and the fate of reforms in Turkey. Bağış said many European and American politicians conveyed him the message that stability and democracy in Turkey was pivotal for the free world.

Cem Özdemir, EP Greens: "This is purely a matter for the Turkish Grand Assembly. I have difficulty understanding the military's reaction. This will greatly help those in the EU who are against Turkey's possible membership. I trust the Parliament. The CHP should immediately be dismissed from the Socialist International. They should apply to extreme right-wing party associations. A party that gives the impression of supporting a coup cannot have any relations whatsoever with leftist ideology.

28.04.2007

Selçuk Gültaşlı Brussels

Democracy means rule of the people, by the people and for the people. Only the majority rule and chose the representatives they believe will lead their country in the direction they (the people) wish.
The army may be defending secularism at all cost, but it is not necessarily democratic.