ATATURK’S REPUBLIC MAY STOP EXISTING
PanARMENIAN.Net
30.04.2007 GMT+04:00
Analysts call the probable election of Abdullah Gul as the president
of the country a step which may do a serious harm to Turkey on the
country’s way to EU.
The Presidential elections which for Justice and Development party
seemed easy to win, may lead to crisis in the country. The Turkish
General Staff, which is rather experienced in removing candidates
it has no need in, also got involved in the issue. The Turkish Army
realized military overturns three times in 1960, 1971 and 1980.
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Besides, in 1997, under some military pressure
the head of the government, the Islamists’ leader, the founder of
the Justice and Development party and Abdullah Gul’s "godfather"
Necmettin Erbakan, was removed. The truth is that later their ways
parted, when Gul leaded a riot against Erbakan after the latter’s
party was deprived of power by the militants in 1997.
Act of secular system and Mustafa Kemal Ataturk’s constitution
protection is the second one which has been organized over the last
several days. According to different information over one million
people participated in it. On April 14, in Ankara there was a similar
manifestation, where again according to different sources from about
500.000 to one million people took part. Slogans like "The Republic
is in danger!", "Stand for the secular system!" were displayed during
the manifestation.
After the first stage of elections, when pessimistically l needed 10
more votes, the army supervision announced that it is concerned about
the situation regarding the presidential elections, and warned that
the armed forces are the guarantee of Turkey’s secular system. To be
elected the president, a candidate needs to have 367 votes out of 550.
According to Turkish Constitution to win in the first and in the
second stages of elections it is necessary for a candidate to secure
the constitutional majority.
The opposition immediately demanded to cancel the results of the
voting taking the question to the Constitutional Court. The verdict
of the Constitutional Court must be reached by May 2, when the second
stage of the elections is planned to be held. The Turkish analysts
are disposed towards Gul’s opportunities to influence the president’s
position rather pessimistically. Analysts call the probable election
of Abdullah Gul as the president of the country a step which may do
a serious harm to Turkey on the country’s way to EU.
The modern Turkish Republic was established on the basis of secularism
and all the presidents of the country have respected country’s secular
values. If Abdullah Gul is elected, he will become the first Turkish
leader, representing a party which is based on Islamic ideologies,
and he will become the first president whose wife wears yashmak. It
should be mentioned that the Turkish president, in fact, has less
power, than the Prime-Minister.
However the presidential institution in Turkey, where the first
president was the founder of the Turkish Republic Mustafa Kemal
Ataturk, carries a very significant symbolic meaning for the people
of the country. The president has limited constitutional rights,
including the right of veto. Ahmet Sezer, leaving the post of the
president, has used his right on veto several times to ban some bills
suggested by the ruling party.
In the observers’ opinion Abdullah Gul is highly respected both in and
outside the country, and he has never been accused of bribery. He is an
economist by profession and a diplomat by his character. His candidacy
doesn’t evoke as many objections among the secular parties as the
image of the Prime-Minster itself. Besides, no one in Turkey would
like to have a president who has been sent to prison for preaching
Islamic poems. R. Erdoghan was elected deputy after amendments in
legislation, which in its time didn’t give him any benefits. However,
Gul has always been standing closer to the traditional Turkish
political Islam, than Erdoghan. There are all the reasons to think
that the selection of the Turkish Foreign Minister’s candidacy was
a victory for the conservative-Islamic wing of the party. Member of
Islamic ruling party, R. Erdoghan’s best friend Gul announces that
he doesn’t have any intentions to give up the fight for obtaining the
post of the country’s president. He offers a number of reforms in the
legislative system of the country and assures, that he will continue
following the course of Eurointegration: "I am not going to give up
the fight. I believe the disorders in the country are organized. We
will continue following the course of reforms."
"PanARMENIAN.Net" analytical department