Protests in Turkey ahead of new vote
Sunday, May 6, 2007
PROTESTS in favour of a secular state were held across Turkey yesterday, a day before parliament votes again on whether to name a former Islamist as the country's new president.
About 80,000 demonstrators gathered in the small western city of Manisa, according to the police, denouncing the governing Justice and Development party (AKP) and calling for Turkey to remain secular.
AKP presidential candidate Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul narrowly missed being elected president on April 27 and faces a new vote in parliament today.
The prospect of an AKP president has alarmed secularists, with more than a million people rallying in Istanbul last weekend following a similar demonstration in Ankara on April 14.
"Our message is clear: we are telling Gul not to be a candidate," one protester said.
Demonstrators chose Manisa because parliament speaker Bulent Arinc, also an influential AKP member, represents the area. Arinc provoked controversy by declaring that the next president should be a "believer".Protests were also held in northwestern Canakkale and in Marmaris in the southwest, attended by 25,000 and 7,000 people respectively, according to television reports.
Further demonstrations have been scheduled for May 13 in Izmir, Turkey's third-largest city.
Gul's candidacy has sparked conflict between Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government and the country's secular army, which has toppled four governments in as many decades.
After last week's parliament vote on Gul's candidacy, the army issued a statement accusing the government of tolerating rising Islamist activity and threatening action.
The government responded equally harshly, calling the army to order.
Last Tuesday the Constitutional Court quashed the first-round parliamentary vote on an application from the opposition saying the required quorum had not been fulfilled.
The crisis forced Erdogan to bow to opposition calls for early general elections. Parliament last Thursday approved bringing the polls forward to July 22 from November.
However Erdogan decided to rerun the first round parliamentary vote today, which the opposition has again vowed to boycott.
The AKP last Friday moved to rush a major reform package through parliament.AFP
About 80,000 demonstrators gathered in the small western city of Manisa, according to the police, denouncing the governing Justice and Development party (AKP) and calling for Turkey to remain secular.
AKP presidential candidate Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul narrowly missed being elected president on April 27 and faces a new vote in parliament today.
The prospect of an AKP president has alarmed secularists, with more than a million people rallying in Istanbul last weekend following a similar demonstration in Ankara on April 14.
"Our message is clear: we are telling Gul not to be a candidate," one protester said.
Demonstrators chose Manisa because parliament speaker Bulent Arinc, also an influential AKP member, represents the area. Arinc provoked controversy by declaring that the next president should be a "believer".Protests were also held in northwestern Canakkale and in Marmaris in the southwest, attended by 25,000 and 7,000 people respectively, according to television reports.
Further demonstrations have been scheduled for May 13 in Izmir, Turkey's third-largest city.
Gul's candidacy has sparked conflict between Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government and the country's secular army, which has toppled four governments in as many decades.
After last week's parliament vote on Gul's candidacy, the army issued a statement accusing the government of tolerating rising Islamist activity and threatening action.
The government responded equally harshly, calling the army to order.
Last Tuesday the Constitutional Court quashed the first-round parliamentary vote on an application from the opposition saying the required quorum had not been fulfilled.
The crisis forced Erdogan to bow to opposition calls for early general elections. Parliament last Thursday approved bringing the polls forward to July 22 from November.
However Erdogan decided to rerun the first round parliamentary vote today, which the opposition has again vowed to boycott.
The AKP last Friday moved to rush a major reform package through parliament.AFP
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