Turkey's staunchly pro-secular president, Ahmet Necdet Sezer, said Friday that the threat Islamic fundamentalism poses to the country's secular establishment is higher than ever - a warning directed at Erdoğan. "For the first time, the pillars of the secular republic are being openly questioned," Sezer said in an address to officers of the country's military, the self-appointed guarantor of the secular regime. "We are aware of the danger," the pro-secular Cumhuriyet newspaper headlined on Saturday in white letters printed against a red background. Erdoğan's government denies it has an Islamic agenda, but pro-secular Turks say the government is slowly moving the country toward increased religious rule. Since taking power, Erdoğan has shown his commitment to future European Union membership by enacting sweeping reforms that allowed the country to start accession talks in 2005. But he has also stoked secularist concerns by speaking out against restrictions on wearing Islamic-style head scarves in government offices and schools and taking steps to bolster religious schools. He tried to criminalize adultery before being forced to back down under intense EU pressure. Some party-run municipalities have taken steps to ban alcohol consumption. The government is widely accused of appointing Islamist-leaning officials to key state positions. Most recently an alleged suggestion by Culture Minister Atilla Koç to add Arabic letters to the Turkish alphabet – which is based on the Latin script - had fueled concerns from secularists. Sezer steps down on May 16. Parliament, which is dominated by lawmakers from Erdoğan's party, will elect the new president early next month. Erdoğan's party was expected to announce its candidates for the position this month.
Army urges loyalty to secularism:
"As a citizen and as a member of the armed forces, we hope that someone who is loyal to the principles of the republic - not just in words but in essence - is elected president," Gen. Yasar Büyükanıt, chief of the military, said Thursday. Büyükanıt's words were widely interpreted as a warning to Erdoğan not to run. The military views itself as the protector of Turkey's secular identity. The fiercely secular generals have staged three coups between 1960 and 1980, and in 1997 led a campaign that pressured a pro-Islamic government out of power. The rally was organized by Şener Eruygur, president of the Atatürk Thought Association and former commander of Turkey's paramilitary forces. Although largely ceremonial, the presidency has become a symbol for secularism under Sezer. A former Constitutional Court judge, Sezer has vetoed a record number of laws he deemed to be in violation of the secular constitution and has blocked government efforts to appoint hundreds of reportedly Islamic-oriented candidates to important civil service positions.
http://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php?enewsid=70698
JPTF 2007/04/15
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