Turkish Demonstrators Fear Inroads On Secular State

In Ankara, Turkey on Saturday, a crowd estimated variously at 200,000 to 300,000 marched to protest the potential loss of secularism in Turkey if the ruling AK Party chooses Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan as its presidential candidate. Because of Erdogan’s Islamist roots, a group of secular generals, judges and university rectors fears he would undermine the strict secular nature of the country. They have similar fears about the potential candidacy of parliament’s speaker, Bulent Arinc. Erdogan denies he has an Islamist agenda. While the post of President in Turkey is largely ceremonial, under current President Ahmet Necdet Sezer the office has strongly defended the secular tradition of the overwhelmingly Muslim country. Developments are reported by Reuters and the Associated Press.