ANKARA, Turkey (CNN) — Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul has vowed to continue in his bid to become the country’s next president despite opposition from lawmakers and military chiefs and a massive public demonstration in Istanbul on Sunday.Gul’s nomination, supported by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has raised concerns among Turkey’s secular establishment over growing Islamist influence within government.In a parliamentary vote on Friday, Gul fell short of the two-thirds majority necessary to be elected after opposition lawmakers boycotted the process and called on Turkey’s constitional court to render it void.On Friday evening military chiefs said in a statement they could intervene if the election process threatened to undermine Turkish secularism.But Gul told reporters on Sunday: “It is out of the question to withdraw my candidacy. The Constitutional Court will make the right decision.”On Sunday at least 300,000 demonstrators gathered in Istanbul, Turkey’s largest city, to protest against Erdogan’s Islamist-influenced government in defense of the country’s secular political traditions, The Associated Press reported.”Turkey is secular and will remain secular,” flag-waving protesters shouted as they demanded the resignation of the government and called Erdogan a traitor.”This government is the enemy of Ataturk,” said 63-year-old Ahmet Yurdakul, a retired public worker, invoking the memory of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founded of the modern Turkish republic. “They want to drag Turkey to the dark ages.The rally was the second anti-government demonstration in two weeks after around 300,000 people gathered in the capital, Ankara, a fortnight ago.
Thx Jason
I have to applaud the people of Turkey who demonstrated for the cause of secularism. I have to admit that it’s hard for me to imagine 300,000 people demonstrating in Washington for the same reason. It’s true that Turkey has more to worry about from Islamists than the US does from fundamentalist Christians, but even if the fundies here posed a similar threat to the US, I worry that the secularists don’t have their act together enough to do anything about it.
The really scary thing about protesting against Islamic fundamentalists en masse like that is that you’re giving a pretty easy target to the fanatical militant minority who would just love to blow themselves up for the cause of Islam.
I’m very heartened to see this kind of protest in predominantly Muslim country. And it takes guts to do it.
Yeah, this is really amazing.
Can anyone think of a way to show support or help them out?
“Can anyone think of a way to show support or help them out?”
I doubt they want the US or the American meddling in their affairs. We don’t have a good track record there thanks to the Maggots in the Whitehouse.
Should read “American people medddling …”
Eat Turkish Delight to show support!
I am shocked, good work being done in Turkey. I wish them the best of luck. They are to some extent risking their lives to do this.
i too wish them the best of luck.i read an article that next door in iran a girl is considered an adult at age 9 and can marry at 13 but her father can make her marry before 13.what are those people thinking why would you even wish such a fate for your daughter.
mohammed had a wife that was 9 yrs old so many muslims consider this a marriageable age for a girl. Sick.
Catholic priests, many, not all, consider this a suitable age when it comes to them having sex with boys too. We locked ‘em up here in Aus. Over 100 of them. A lot wimped out and topped themselves in the face of overwhelming evidence before trial.
Sick enclaves all of them.
Aussie
We have been locking a lot in the pokey in the USA too. First it was the Catholics but now the class action suits are being brought against the protestant MegaChurches. Initially lawyers stayed away from taking cases against the decentralized shallow pockets the protestants as opposed to the centralized deep pockets of the catholics. But things have changed in recent years and the protestant MegaChurches are better targets.
If their are any lawyers here. Go get em!
What,
You forgot the southern baptists too. Apparently a lot of crazy shit goes on in those churches. (What a shock.)
I hope Turkey can stay secular and join the European Union. I’m glad to read what I believe to be good news from there.
Why are the islamic fundamentalists being so nice to turkey? What are they doing right?
“in iran a girl is considered an adult at age 9″
The criteron must be the possession of a vagina. It’s a wonder they’re not raping them at birth. I hate muslum men. I wish they would all die at once. What a burden thay are on humanity. What an festering infection they are to our planet.
Pehaps I’m over-generalizing. Maybe there is a good muslum guy out there somewhere. Nah, not possible. Fatal muslum-man virus, that’s what we need.
Oops-I guess it’s muslim. Sorry.
I had a pretty cool muslim buddy in my biology lab this year…
but maybe he had a nine year old wife at home, I don’t know.
“Why are the islamic fundamentalists being so nice to turkey? What are they doing right?”
BushCo’s criminal behavior has pushed a lot of people to extremes as they fear they could be the next attacked by a country out of control. It’s not so much what islamic fundies are doing right as it is what are we doing wrong. And the answer is obvious to anybody with a heart and brain.
You’re completely correct about why they hate america. Why do they hate Israel?
Wait a minute , stop , go back to Turkey!
“Can anyone think of a way to show support or help them out?”
There’re certainly ways you can help us. For one, continue to buy Turkish delight. Continue to include us in late autumn and winter celebrations. Go and buy a Turkish-made plasma TV or something. Visit Istanbul – I’ve got a cousin who can give you a really good deal on a carpet. Etc and so on.
And demonstrate. I’d love to see three million Americans take to the streets of New York. Sad when a supposedly secular country such as the US gives greater visibility to religion than the Vatican. (OK, maybe I exaggerate a teensy bit).
Oh – and we were anywhere between 700K and a million. Let’s get the numbers straight too.
Otherwise, keep up the good fight against obscurantism in all its forms.