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HEART OF POLITICS BEATS IN RALLIES AHEAD OF ELECTIONS
Today's Zaman, Turkey
May 14 2007
Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators gathered in the Aegean province
of Ýzmir in the latest anti-government rally ahead of the upcoming
general elections, slated for July 22.
The rally, attended by three leftist opposition leaders, came a day
after up to 100,000 supporters of the ruling Justice and Development
Party (AK Party) raised gigantic Turkish flags and chanted slogans
denouncing the opposition as they enthusiastically listened to Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoðan and Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul at
a meeting in the eastern province of Erzurum.
Streets and buildings, including army barracks, in Ýzmir -- Turkey's
third-largest city and known to be a bastion of the main opposition
Republican People's Party (CHP) -- were awash with a sea of red
Turkish flags and portraits of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the revered
founder of modern Turkey. Demonstrators chanting slogans in favor
of secularism had expected the rally to be a platform for unity
between the politicians on the left, namely Deniz Baykal of the CHP
and Zeki Sezer of the smaller Democratic Left Party (DSP), which has
recently agreed to an election alliance with the CHP. But the two
leaders did not meet or address the demonstrators, although they
were believed to be among the crowd. A third leftist politician,
Social Democratic People's Party (SHP) leader Murat Karayalcýn,
also attended the meeting.
The Ýzmir demonstration was the latest in a series of "republican
rallies" that began in Ankara on April 14 and later continued in
Ýstanbul, Manisa and Canakkale, aimed at supporting secularism
and opposing a candidate from the ruling AK Party becoming the
next president of Turkey. The rallies have received praise as a
demonstration of the people striving to make their voices heard.But
the meetings, which intensified after the military issued a strong
statement on April 27 expressing concern over the presidential election
process and warning of intervention, also raised questions over the
demonstrators' desire to see the military, the die-hard guardian of
Turkey's secular order, intervening in the country's politics.
The AK Party, which has overseen the start of accession talks with the
European Union and pushed for radical economic and political reforms
aimed at bringing Turkey closer to the bloc, denies it is pursuing an
Islamist agenda. "Would we have worked that hard to join the EU if we
had a hidden agenda?" Foreign Minister Gul, the AK Party's presidential
candidate who had to withdraw his bid after the Constitutional Court
annulled the parliamentary vote, has recently asked.
Demonstrators in Ýzmir, gathering in Gundoðdu Square and along the
coastal strip of Kordonboyu, chanted anti-EU and US slogans as well
as ones against the AK Party government. "Neither the US nor the EU,
fully independent Turkey," "Voting for Tayyip kills," "Killer US,
get out of the Middle East" and "International Monetary Fund out,
this is our country," were among the slogans frequently chanted by
protestors. The banners raised by demonstrators called for unity
among the leftist parties in order to counter the AK Party in the
general elections. One banner read "We are all Turks," apparently
in reaction to banners reading "We are all Armenians" raised at a
funeral ceremony in January for Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink,
slain by a teenage hit man in Ýstanbul.
An opinion poll recently published by Vatan daily said some 62 percent
of those who attended the pro-secularist rallies voted for the CHP
in the previous elections, held in 2002.
Retired Gen. Hurþit Tolon, a prominent member of one of the main
organizers of the meeting, the Kemalist Thought Association (ADD) and
Workers' Party (ÝP) Chairman Doðu Perincek were also in attendance
at the rally. Many demonstrators came from Ýstanbul, Ankara and
other cities.
The rally took place a day after a bomb fastened to a bicycle exploded
at an open-air market in Ýzmir as traders were preparing their stalls
for the day, killing one vendor and injuring 14 other people.
The government is now pushing for constitutional changes to pave the
way for election of the president by public vote after its attempt to
get Gul elected in Parliament was blocked by the Constitutional Court
and the CHP. The latter successfully challenged the election at the
court, based on the claim that there were less than 367 deputies in
attendance when the vote began. CHP leader Baykal said he opposed the
public election of president, saying it would result in "sultanate"
coming back to Turkey and warning that it would lead the public will to
"shatter."
Erdoðan lashed out at Baykal during his visit to Erzurum, which
was organized to hand over houses built by the Public Housing
Authority of Turkey (TOKÝ) to their owners. "We have never lost
our common sense in the face of those who try to stir up tension
[or] create polarization. You know who I am talking about," Erdoðan
told supporters in Erzurum, where a two-kilometer-long Turkish flag
streamer was raised aloft.
"You will teach them the lesson when the time comes," Erdoðan said,
referring to the coming elections. He said that Parliament had elected
the president in the past, but when it came to Gul, his candidacy was
blocked. "My nation would send me to Parliament even with 550 deputies
(the entire Parliament), but you (the opposition) would still make up
excuses to block it," he said, adding: "Here are those who believe
in democracy and the secular republic. But the opposition is afraid
to go to the people."
Banners at the Erzurum gathering read, "Neither in Tandoðan, nor in
Caðlayan, the republic is in Erzurum," referring to past rallies in
Ankara's Tandoðan and Ýstanbul's Caðlayan squares.
--Boundary_(ID_iwz7CfqRGht+l/fjBaey4g)--
Today's Zaman, Turkey
May 14 2007
Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators gathered in the Aegean province
of Ýzmir in the latest anti-government rally ahead of the upcoming
general elections, slated for July 22.
The rally, attended by three leftist opposition leaders, came a day
after up to 100,000 supporters of the ruling Justice and Development
Party (AK Party) raised gigantic Turkish flags and chanted slogans
denouncing the opposition as they enthusiastically listened to Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoðan and Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul at
a meeting in the eastern province of Erzurum.
Streets and buildings, including army barracks, in Ýzmir -- Turkey's
third-largest city and known to be a bastion of the main opposition
Republican People's Party (CHP) -- were awash with a sea of red
Turkish flags and portraits of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the revered
founder of modern Turkey. Demonstrators chanting slogans in favor
of secularism had expected the rally to be a platform for unity
between the politicians on the left, namely Deniz Baykal of the CHP
and Zeki Sezer of the smaller Democratic Left Party (DSP), which has
recently agreed to an election alliance with the CHP. But the two
leaders did not meet or address the demonstrators, although they
were believed to be among the crowd. A third leftist politician,
Social Democratic People's Party (SHP) leader Murat Karayalcýn,
also attended the meeting.
The Ýzmir demonstration was the latest in a series of "republican
rallies" that began in Ankara on April 14 and later continued in
Ýstanbul, Manisa and Canakkale, aimed at supporting secularism
and opposing a candidate from the ruling AK Party becoming the
next president of Turkey. The rallies have received praise as a
demonstration of the people striving to make their voices heard.But
the meetings, which intensified after the military issued a strong
statement on April 27 expressing concern over the presidential election
process and warning of intervention, also raised questions over the
demonstrators' desire to see the military, the die-hard guardian of
Turkey's secular order, intervening in the country's politics.
The AK Party, which has overseen the start of accession talks with the
European Union and pushed for radical economic and political reforms
aimed at bringing Turkey closer to the bloc, denies it is pursuing an
Islamist agenda. "Would we have worked that hard to join the EU if we
had a hidden agenda?" Foreign Minister Gul, the AK Party's presidential
candidate who had to withdraw his bid after the Constitutional Court
annulled the parliamentary vote, has recently asked.
Demonstrators in Ýzmir, gathering in Gundoðdu Square and along the
coastal strip of Kordonboyu, chanted anti-EU and US slogans as well
as ones against the AK Party government. "Neither the US nor the EU,
fully independent Turkey," "Voting for Tayyip kills," "Killer US,
get out of the Middle East" and "International Monetary Fund out,
this is our country," were among the slogans frequently chanted by
protestors. The banners raised by demonstrators called for unity
among the leftist parties in order to counter the AK Party in the
general elections. One banner read "We are all Turks," apparently
in reaction to banners reading "We are all Armenians" raised at a
funeral ceremony in January for Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink,
slain by a teenage hit man in Ýstanbul.
An opinion poll recently published by Vatan daily said some 62 percent
of those who attended the pro-secularist rallies voted for the CHP
in the previous elections, held in 2002.
Retired Gen. Hurþit Tolon, a prominent member of one of the main
organizers of the meeting, the Kemalist Thought Association (ADD) and
Workers' Party (ÝP) Chairman Doðu Perincek were also in attendance
at the rally. Many demonstrators came from Ýstanbul, Ankara and
other cities.
The rally took place a day after a bomb fastened to a bicycle exploded
at an open-air market in Ýzmir as traders were preparing their stalls
for the day, killing one vendor and injuring 14 other people.
The government is now pushing for constitutional changes to pave the
way for election of the president by public vote after its attempt to
get Gul elected in Parliament was blocked by the Constitutional Court
and the CHP. The latter successfully challenged the election at the
court, based on the claim that there were less than 367 deputies in
attendance when the vote began. CHP leader Baykal said he opposed the
public election of president, saying it would result in "sultanate"
coming back to Turkey and warning that it would lead the public will to
"shatter."
Erdoðan lashed out at Baykal during his visit to Erzurum, which
was organized to hand over houses built by the Public Housing
Authority of Turkey (TOKÝ) to their owners. "We have never lost
our common sense in the face of those who try to stir up tension
[or] create polarization. You know who I am talking about," Erdoðan
told supporters in Erzurum, where a two-kilometer-long Turkish flag
streamer was raised aloft.
"You will teach them the lesson when the time comes," Erdoðan said,
referring to the coming elections. He said that Parliament had elected
the president in the past, but when it came to Gul, his candidacy was
blocked. "My nation would send me to Parliament even with 550 deputies
(the entire Parliament), but you (the opposition) would still make up
excuses to block it," he said, adding: "Here are those who believe
in democracy and the secular republic. But the opposition is afraid
to go to the people."
Banners at the Erzurum gathering read, "Neither in Tandoðan, nor in
Caðlayan, the republic is in Erzurum," referring to past rallies in
Ankara's Tandoðan and Ýstanbul's Caðlayan squares.
--Boundary_(ID_iwz7CfqRGht+l/fjBaey4g)--