TURKEY: Newly elected President Abdullah Gul watches parade of Turkey's secular army

Record ID: 450097

  • Title: TURKEY: Newly elected President Abdullah Gul watches parade of Turkey's secular army
  • Date: 31st August 2007
  • Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (English) TURKISH COLUMNIST MEHMET ALI BIRAND SAYING: "He will be challenged by the secular forces. When I say secular forces - first the main opposition party, the military, second, the secularist media, 20 percent of this country, will oppose him and will do everything to put him under pressure - not to do this, not to do that. That will be the main challenge exactly."
  • Embargoed: 15th September 2007 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Turkey
  • Country: Turkey
  • Topics: Domestic Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA2A4S7W6NHRBEWT7QQL76962VQ
  • Story Text: Turkey's newly elected president Abdullah Gul, a politician with an Islamist past and chief of general staff of Turkish secularist army victory parade together.
    Turkey's new president Abdullah Gul and Chief of General staff Yasar Buyukanit on Thursday (August 30) saluted the army in a show of unity at the Victory day celebrations in Ankara.
    Relations between the secularist army and the new head of state who has an Islamist past have been tense.
    Earlier in the week Buyukanit had boycotted Gul's presidential oath taking ceremony.
    Newspaper columnist Mehmet Ali Birand said the setback will not stop secular forces such as opposition politicians, the army and secularist media from putting pressure on Gul.
    Birand said those secularist forces "will oppose him and will do everything to put him under pressure - not to do this, not to do that."
    Turkey's military, which has removed four governments in 60 years, warned on Monday (August 27) that "centres of evil" were trying to undermine the secular system, suggesting the army would not stand on the sidelines if the country's secularism was threatened.
    Turkey's military consider itself the ultimate guardian of the secular republic founded by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. The army and secular elite fear that the ruling AK Party, which has backed Gul, has a hidden Islamist agenda and want to bring back religion into public life.
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