NPR: Gul Finally Elected President of Turkey

Gul Finally Elected President of Turkey

Newly elected Turkish President Abdullah Gul

STR/AFP/Getty Images

A new president has been elected in Turkey: Abdullah Gul, the former foreign minister and a devout Muslim with a background in political Islam. His election is a victory for the pro-Islam government of Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

But Gul's election is not likely to sit well with Turkey's strong secularist military.

"Our nation has been watching the behavior of those separatists who can't embrace Turkey's unitary nature, and centers of evil that systematically try to corrode the secular nature of the Turkish Republic," Gen. Yasar Buyukanit, chief of the military, said in a note on its Web site Monday. The BBC reports that although the statement on the military's Web site did not name anyone, analysts believe it was aimed at Gul. The Turkish military has ousted four governments since 1960.

The leading secularist opposition party did not take part in today's vote and has said it will not participate in any presidential ceremonies.

When Gul ran for president earlier this year, the military produced a similar warning on its Web site, part of a campaign against him that led to a constitutional crisis. After a parliamentary boycott prevented Gul from being elected, Erdogan called for general elections, and his party was returned to power with 47 percent of the vote.

The victory, combined with the way Turkey's election system works, gave him the opportunity to nominate Gul again. Gul has repeatedly said he would uphold the country's secularist constitution.

1:40 PM ET | 08-28-2007 | permalink

Comments (Send a comment)

As I listened to today's commentary on Abdullah Gul, I found myself wondering if NPR's (including BBC's The World)staff are really as informed as they should be, with regard to non-Western countries and their cultures? Firstly, Turkey is a Muslim country. How is it possible for a Muslim country fear the faith practiced by the vast majority of its citizens? This contradiction almost defies description! The broader issue that American news sources really needs to confront is, how much of this supposed "fear" of Islam in Turkey (and other Muslim countries) is really a projection of the anti-Muslim sentiment that so thoroughly pervades American culture?

Sent by Timothy Stinson | 3:38 PM ET | 08-28-2007

Walking through Istanbul with my Turkish friend last year, a secular woman, I watched as she was shunned by women with scarves who turned their backs on her.
The rise of the AK party is giving the more religious Turks the support and impetus to force the country into an Islamist state.
The election of Gul will only split the country further. He may be a moderate but he encourages and emboldens the more fundamental elements.
It could have the effect that the military will feel the need to step in again to change the government. Look at the harsh language in the warning the military issued just yesterday. That would be a disaster to their EU hopes and for the economy.
John G-
Brooklyn, USA
http://onaperegrine.blogspot.com/

Sent by John G- | 4:22 PM ET | 08-28-2007

It is discouraging to see a previous commentator suggesting the NPR's report as misleading. I would urge him to do some research about Turkey's secularism. NPR's and also BBC's reports are very accurate reflecting the fears of Turkish people majority of whom are loyal to secular reforms of Kemal Ataturk, the founder of Turkish Republic. With the capturing the last bastion of secularism by the Islamist AKP, religion now will assume a larger and larger place in the country's politics and society. Turkey will become a more Islamic society in its foreign-policy outlook and culture. Anti-Western sentiments will grow. Turkey will enter into the era of instability in its politics. Furthermore to prevent all this the militay may takeover the government in the premise to protect the secular nature of the social life. This would jeopardize the aspiration of Turkey to enter into EU. Unfortunately Turkey's future is squeezed between an Islamic fundamentalism or a military dictatorship.

Sent by Sinan Toprak | 3:12 PM ET | 08-29-2007

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