Posted on 04/29/2007 4:20:35 PM PDT by blam
Turkish anti-Islamic rally draws 500,000
By Duncan Hooper and agencies
Last Updated: 2:51pm BST 29/04/2007
Around half a million people gathered in Istanbul today demanding the resignation of the pro-Islamic government.
The streets of Istanbul were a sea of red Turkish flags
The rally will spur fears of a military coup as it follows a steep rise in tensions between Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the country's prime minister, and the pro-secular army, which accuses the government of tolerating the activities of radical Muslims.
"Turkey is secular and will remain secular," the protesters chanted, waving the national flag.
Ahmet Yurdakul, 63 year-old a retired government employee accused the government of wanting to "drag Turkey to the dark ages."
At the heart of the dispute is the recent indecisive presidential election, in which the ruling party candidate Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, failed to secure a first-round victory on Friday.
Mr Erdogan's government yesterday rejected a warning from the army about the vote, calling it interference that is unacceptable in a democracy.
Most opposition legislators boycotted the vote and challenged its validity in the Constitutional Court, prompting the military to voice its concern and threaten to become more openly involved in the electoral process
Since coming to power, Mr Erdogan's party has supported religious schools and tried to lift the ban on Islamic head scarves in public offices and schools.
Opponents accuse them of trying to unpick the heritage of Ataturk, who founded the modern Turkish state along secular lines, replacing the Islamic alphabet and granting women the right to vote.
Turkey has experienced three military coups since 1960.
We should have one of those rallies here.
Right wing/Ultra Conservative bigots all no doubt. /s
Let anti-Islamofacism spread across their borders.
Has this made the news here in the USA? I hardly watch TV any more so I don’t know.
Wow.
Turkey?!
So does this mean that they will soon demand that Istanbul go back to Constantinople?
perhaps there’s hope for the Islamic world yet
I don’t think that the Turks want radical Islam ruling their land. Hopefully, rallying will be enough.
Awesome.
The headlines should read TURKEY PASSES AMERICA LIKE SHE WAS STANDING STILL. With all I’ve been reading over the passed few months we can’t seem to do enough to please the Muslims in this country. A place to wash thier feet, can’t talk about pork or pigs in class we might offend, ham sandwiches are racist. Standing O Turkey, your on the right track. Hows the weather over thier? Just hedging my bets, the way things are going over here we’ll all be praising allah and wearing burkas in a few short years, if the libs have thier way! Maybe Pelosi’s visit was to search out some new digs when it all comes to pass?
Reuters is reporting one million people at the rally.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200704/s1909384.htm
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070429/wl_nm/turkey_president_dc_15
One Million People
My respect for the Turks grows with this. Wow.
Had the TV on all day in the background while I was studying and never saw anything about it.
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