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| Europe |
| Massive anti-Islamofascism rally in Turkey |
| 2007-04-14 |
| AP story. Dunno if any of these people exist. Chanting secularist slogans and waving Turkish flags, more than 300,000 people from all over Turkey rallied Saturday to discourage Prime Minister The demonstrators marched to the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of modern secular Turkey in 1923, transforming the normally hushed venue into an unprecedented demonstration ground. "Turkey is secular, it will remain secular", "The presidency's roads are closed to Sharia (Islamic law)", "An imam cannot become a president", they chanted, reflecting concerns that Erdogan and his Justice and Devlopment Party (AKP) are not truly committed to the mainly Muslim nation's secular system. The crowd broke into wild applause at the changing of the guard of honour. "The nation is proud of you," they chanted to the soldiers, demonstrating support for the army, which has carried out three coups — in 1960, 1971 and 1980 — and in 1997 forced from power Turkey's first Islamist-led government, to which many AKP members belonged. Erdogan has yet to say whether or not he will run for the presidency when the AKP-dominated parliament elects a successor to the staunchly secularist Ahmet Necdet Sezer next month. The AKP has pledged commitment to secularism and carried out a series of democracy reforms to boost Turkey's bid to join the European Union. That taqiyya thing again. Actually, the more savage and Islamic you are, the more like most of Europe will give you anything you want. Yet, the secular establishment, including the powerful army, remains sceptical of Erdogan's avowed rejection of his radical Islamist past. His government has made unsuccessful attempts to criminalise adultery, restrict alcohol-serving places to special zones and ease university access for graduates of high schools training imams. Saturday's demonstration began with a meeting on Ankara's sprawling Tandogan Square, organised by non-governmental groups, led by the Association of Ataturk Thought. The demonstrators flooded into the capital in packed buses, trains and planes from all over Turkey, filling four major arteries for a length of several kilometres (miles) as they marched to the venue under the discreetly watchful eye of a 10,000-strong police presence. Police estimated the crowd at more than 300,000, while organisers said one million people joined the rally. Deniz Baykal, chairman of the social-democratic main opposition Republican People's Party, and leaders of several smaller parties were among the crowd. The demonstrators carried placards reading, "Democracy does not mean tolerating reaction," and "Cankaya (site of the presidential palace in Ankara) will not be home to (religious) sheikhs and brotherhoods." "Respect faith, reject reaction," another banner read. Thanks to its two-third parliamentary majority, the AKP can easily elect the candidate of its choice. Candidacies can be submitted from Monday morning to midnight on April 25, and many believe Erdogan will apply for the country's top job. "Legally, he can" become president, wrote columnist Can Dundar Saturday in the liberal daily Milliyet. "Politically, he shouldn't. In fact, he will." "They want to slowly transform Turkey into Iran or Saudi Arabia," retired teacher Mehlika Erecekler, 44, told AFP at Tandogan Square, "but they can't because they're afraid of the army. We support the army." Another demonstrator, Ayla Aysel, 66, said: "I've seen my share of coups in Turkey and every coup put Turkey back by 10 years. But if Erdogan becomes president, it will put Turkey back by 100 years." "God preserve us from Sharia," she added. Great line, especially from a secularist. Many oppose the idea of Erdogan's wife Emine, who wears the Islamic headscarf hated by most secularists as a symbol of religion in politics, becoming Turkey's first lady and one headscarf-wearing demonstrator agreed. "I don't want Erdogan to become president because he exploits our religion, he exploits the headscarf," Durdu Kuran, a 41-year-old agricultural worker from the southern town of Finike, said. Oh, and the formatting doesn't show in Preview mode in FF. I'm flying blind here. |
| Posted by:Jackal |
| #3 tHERE IS HOPE... |
| Posted by: borgboy2001 2007-04-14 22:37 |
| #2 saw the video on the local news - pretty large crowd. Have no idea whether it was >300K (I can't estimate these for sh*t. I'd swear the Million Man March was about 700K low....) |
| Posted by: Frank G 2007-04-14 20:48 |
| #1 Gotta give credit where it's due. If true, I applaud these brave Turks. |
| Posted by: Scooter McGruder 2007-04-14 20:42 |