TASEK PAUH blogspot

Around 1,600 Web sites hosted by server-provider Proinet and 3,800 sites hosted by another company have been targeted, Proinet spokesman Kjetil Jensen said. Jensen said the hackers, operating on a Turkish network, removed all files on the Web sites and in some cases replaced them with messages.

According to Swedish news agency TT, the Web site of a children's cartoon called Bamse was replaced by a message saying Islam's holy Prophet had been insulted. The incidents have been reported to the police. Stefan Grinneby, head of the Swedish communication watchdog's Internet incident center Sitic, said attacks against Swedish Web sites from Turkey have increased in the past three weeks.

Some contained messages alluding to the drawing of the Prophet Mohammed as a reason for the attack. “You would need a very large police investigation to establish the connection to the prophet drawings, but considering the increase in recent weeks it is a fair assumption to make,” he said. Swedish newspaper Nerikes Allehanda published a drawing by artist Lars Vilks in an Aug. 19 editorial depicting Mohammed’s head on a dog’s body. It triggered protests from Swedish Muslim groups and formal complaints from Muslim countries, including Pakistan and Iran. An insurgent leader in Iraq, Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, put a $100,000 bounty on Vilks’ head. Similar caricatures of the Prophet, first published in 2005 by a Danish newspaper and reprinted in other European newspapers, triggered street protests in Muslims countries.

Labels: Islamophobia, Luar Negeri, Turkey

Islam Hadhari sebagai contoh?

Erdoğan rejects ‘Malaysia’ charges, moderate Islam

see also Malaysia or Egypt?

Today's Zaman - Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has responded to claims that ongoing efforts to rewrite the Turkish Constitution would undermine secularism and turn Turkey into an Islamic country like Malaysia, saying such arguments are aimed at weakening his Justice and Development Party (AK Party) after his landslide election victory on July 22.

"In the past, they used to say Turkey will become an Iran. Once they understood that this would not work, they began to look for other ways to undermine the AK Party. And now they say Turkey will become a Malaysia," Erdoğan said, after receiving a question at a conference at the Council on Foreign Relations, a New York-based think tank, on Thursday. He then turned to Richard Holbrooke, who was also addressing the panel, and said laughingly that Holbrooke "had a role in this." Smiling, Holbrooke said he was sorry for his role and added that Turkey is neither an Iran nor a Malaysia.

In remarks following Turkey's July 22 elections, Holbrooke cited Turkey and Malaysia as two examples of "moderate Islam" that the US and Europe wanted to see nourished in the Islamic world. The remarks sparked a heated debate in Turkey over whether the AK Party's resounding victory and the new constitution efforts would put Turkey on an Islamic path akin to that of Malaysia. The debates reached a peak when Şerif Mardin, a respected sociologist, said he could not say for sure that Turkey would not turn into another Malaysia.

Erdoğan said the "moderate Islam" thesis that fed the concerns over Turkey turning into a Malaysia was not credible, repeating his long-held argument that "there is no moderate or immoderate Islam; Islam is Islam."

The prime minister, who is in New York to attend the UN General Assembly, also met with his Malaysian counterpart, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, for 15 minutes. There was no statement from the prime ministers after the meeting, but Badawi, faced with insistent questions from Turkish reporters on whether Turkey would become another Malaysia, was puzzled. In response to questions, he explained his country's economic success and remarked that Malaysia was a modern country when he was questioned on women's rights and the headscarf.

Efforts to rewrite the Constitution are being met with skepticism in Turkey, where critics of the government say some of the proposed changes, such the one that would lift the headscarf ban in universities, are meant to undermine the country's secular system.

Erdoğan said Islam prohibits the imposition of beliefs and whether people practice their beliefs or not. "Those who exercise their beliefs cannot and should not intervene in the way those who do not practice live, and vice versa," Erdoğan said.

He assured that the secularism as defined in the current constitution would be protected in the new constitution. However, the prime minister also said politicians should not be attacked because their wives want to wear a headscarf in line with their beliefs. Erdoğan's wife, Emine, wears a headscarf, as does the wife of President Abdullah Gül, Hayrünnisa. Mrs. Gül has been absent from most official ceremonies to avoid run-ins with military commanders, who see themselves as guardians of the secular republic and avoid receptions hosted by Gül and his wife.

Labels: Luar Negeri, Turkey

Erdoğan: Criticism unjust, fears unfounded

Today's Zaman, Sep 20 - Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan rejected criticism yesterday of ongoing efforts to write a new constitution and said concerns that Turkey's women might see their freedoms coming under Islamic pressure were groundless.

The prime minister, speaking at a press conference in the capital, also signaled a draft constitution would include phrases removing the ban on wearing the headscarf in universities. "We are talking about freedoms here," Erdoğan said, when he was asked to state his opinion on whether the ban should be lifted. "The headscarf is not a symbol for a political party." He also complained, however, that the entire efforts to rewrite the constitution are being reduced to the headscarf issue.

Earlier in the day, Erdoğan said in remarks published by the Financial Times that the right to higher education cannot be restricted because of what a student wears. "There is no such problem in Western societies, but there is a problem in Turkey and I believe it is the first duty of those in politics to solve this problem," he was quoted as saying.

Erdoğan's Justice and Development Party (AK Party) has formed a group of legislators and scholars to write a new constitution that will replace the current one, written during military rule following a coup in 1980. The scholars' draft, which contains alternative proposals to lift the headscarf ban, was reviewed by AK Party officials last weekend, but there was no clarity after the meeting if the AK Party favored keeping the proposals, with reports saying that the final decision was left to Erdoğan.

Members of the opposition have accused the government of trying to put an Islamic stamp on the constitution and erode the secular traditions of the predominantly Muslim nation. At a press conference earlier yesterday, university rectors said the ban cannot be removed and called for a halt to efforts to rewrite the constitution.

Erdoğan responded to rectors, saying they had no right to decide whether the process of rewriting the constitution should continue or be halted. “They should mind their own business,” he said.

Asked to comment on arguments that women not wearing a headscarf would feel under pressure to wear the headscarf if the official ban is lifted, Erdoğan said: “The women should not worry at all. We have been in power for five years. What happened? Was there anything wrong during that period?”

Şerif Mardin, a respected sociologist, said in remarks in a weekend interview that have widely been quoted in the Turkish press since then that the headscarf ban should definitely be lifted, but added that he cannot tell women not to worry about their future.

Erdoğan asserted that the new constitution would extend freedoms. “We are working with a pro-freedom approach. We don’t want Turkey to lose any more time or generations due to fears,” he said. “Criticism on method is unjust and fears on substance [of the constitutional reform] are unfounded.”

The current constitution has often been criticized as being too restrictive and several nongovernmental organizations are known to have prepared alternatives. Erdoğan said the current constitution has already lost its uniformity due to previous amendments that have altered one-third of its text.

Responding to criticism from the staunchly secular opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) and others that the reform efforts were not transparent and participatory, Erdoğan said there was no finalized draft opened to debate yet and emphasized that Turkey was only at the beginning stage of a lengthy process of writing a new constitution.

Accordingly, when the draft is finalized, it will be discussed with all political parties and sent to universities, media institutions and nongovernmental organizations for maximum public debate ahead of the text’s presentation to Parliament. It will also be posted on the Internet for public access, he said.

“We are drafting a constitution for Turkey, not for the AK Party,” Erdoğan said, emphasizing that there is a lot of time to debate the new constitution. “There are efforts to kill the work in the initial stage.”

Labels: Luar Negeri, Turkey

Question: Your party, the AKP (Justice and Development), is preparing a new Turkish constitution. Your critics in some circles suspect that you are trying to use this as an opportunity to change Turkey's secular regime.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan: It is strange. Before we formed a government five years ago, all political parties agreed that we needed to create a new, civilian constitution. Our current constitution, as well as the one that preceded it, has no civilian foundations ...

Question: ... it originated under the direction of the military after a putsch ...

Erdogan: We want a constitution that is going to protect a state that is a democratic, secular and social state of law. First it is about individual freedoms. We are putting forward a proposal, a draft, that we will discuss with all parties in parliament, the NGOs and the universities. We will debate it in the widest sense possible before we put it forward to a vote. That is our responsibility -- after all, the constitution is going to point Turkey in a certain direction.

Question: Talking about freedoms, the headscarf ban has been underlined as the most critical issue when it comes to constitutional changes, and there is widespread understanding that that issue is going to be presented for your consideration as prime minister. What is your take on that?

Erdogan: Freedom of religion and conscience is a part of democracy that cannot be neglected. The same applies to the right to obtain an education. I believe that anyone who calls himself a democrat thinks that a person cannot be denied a university education simply because that person wears a headscarf. There is no such problem in Western societies, so why is there one in Turkey? I believe it is the first duty of those in politics to solve this problem.

Question: The draft just presented by a commission of legal experts appointed by you says very clearly that: "Nobody can be refused a higher education on the grounds of their clothing and appearance."

Erdogan: What we have now is just a draft and no decisions have been made about what will be written in the constitution in the end. You also have to understand that it wouldn't be novel in any way in Turkey to go to university with a headscarf. Earlier it used to be possible -- but then, regrettably, the ban started.

Question: You claim you want to strengthen secular and democratic laws. Does that also apply to freedom of opinion, which is especially important to Europe? Brussels is still waiting for you to change the disputed Paragraph 301, which is again and again used to prosecute authors, journalists and academics in court.

Erdogan: We will be able to overcome all this. We are going to finish this in 2008.

Question: Do you feel there are false perceptions in the West of your party when it comes to Islamic references?

Erdogan: It makes me sad when the AKP is described in articles as a religiously based party. People should take a look at our political program and our set of codes and listen to what we are saying. It is rude and unfair against any party that is saying it is not religiously centered as an Islamic Party, and so is trying to pinpoint it in a certain area just by looking at our family lives. Do people who try to be religiously observant in their private lives not have the right to be active in politics? In the West, that is quite accepted, and it is also perceived as something good. There, one can speak openly about being a Christian Democrat. Of course, we have never accepted the name "Muslim Democrats" because that would be exploiting religion. Because our religion is free of errors, but in our political party we may commit mistakes or wrongdoings. That's why we say we are conservative.

Question: There are still reservations about your party in your own country. Take, for example, the attitude of the military towards the new president, Abdullah Gül.

Erdogan: Our relationship with the Turkish people is very good. The only other time in Turkish history that a governing party improved its results in an election (as we succeeded in doing this July) was in 1954. That shows how much belief the people have in us. We are the only party in parliament that has representatives from 80 out of 81 cities.

Question: Does the military recognize that?

Erdogan: I'm not the right person to whom this question should be asked. The army has a role that is clearly written in the constitution and they are acting on that. But the military is not the policy-maker -- that's the job of the Turkish people. And the people have made the decision.

Question: The conflict with your neighbor, Iran, over Tehran's nuclear program is far from having been resolved. Now France's foreign minister is warning of the possibility of war. Are you alarmed?

Erdogan: It would be entirely wrong to start any kind of military operation against Iran if nothing has been proven. The bill for this we know from Iraq. Before we always said people needed to view things differently. And now you see that tens of thousands have died and so much art and so many cities have been destroyed.

Question: So do you trust the Iranian leaders?

Erdogan: So long as the contrary has not been proven, we have to trust them. I, too, am opposed to weapons of mass destruction. But it is unacceptable to say that other countries may possess weapons of mass destruction but not Iran. When I speak with the Iranian leadership, they stress again and again that they only want to use nuclear energy for humanitarian needs. We are also considering nuclear energy and we are in talks with German, French, Canadian and American firms. We need new energies. But if we take more concrete steps, will they label us in the same way?

Question: The United States has criticized your current negotiations with Iran over gas supplies as untimely.

Erdogan: It is not as if our relations with Iran only began recently. We receive natural gas from Iran that is crucial to our economy. Iran is our second biggest supplier on this. Why should I sever (ties with Iran) if nothing really strange or serious has happened? The aim of Turkish foreign policy is to make friends, not enemies.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan answered the questions of SPIEGEL correspondent Annette Grossbongardt in the context of an interview given to SPIEGEL, the New York Times and the Financial Times.

Labels: Luar Negeri, Turkey

Today's Zaman, Aug 23 - In the wake of the European Union's strong support for Abdullah Gül's presidential candidacy, Muslim leaders have also joined the choir in lending support to Gül. The former deputy prime minister of Malaysia and a well-respected intellectual in the Muslim world, Anwar Ibrahim, said Gül has been an inspiration for Muslim Democrats all over the world.

Praising Gül as an experienced politician and a very capable leader, Ibrahim said his leadership "has most certainly inspired a generation of Muslim democrats in Turkey and around the world."

In an interview through e-mail, Ibrahim answered Today’s Zaman’s questions:

What might the Islamic world think if Gül is elected president of Turkey?

Turkey’s progression toward democracy represents the hopes and aspirations of Muslims around the world struggling to cast away the shackles of authoritarianism and dictatorship. The resounding victory of the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) in the July elections reaffirmed Turkey’s commitment to this democratizing trend and sent a positive signal throughout the Muslim world that the reform agenda is a viable and attractive option to authoritarianism. We cannot predict the outcome of the nomination of Mr. Gül but it is critical that the electoral process as delineated in the Turkish constitution not be derailed by special interest or military intervention.

Do you think Turkey’s secularism will be in danger if Gül gets elected?

The underlying principles of the Turkish state have been reaffirmed by the AK Party government throughout its tenure, and the Turkish people have expressed their approval of a ruling party that is at ease both with Turkey’s secular political landscape as well as its roots in a culture tied to Islamic civilization. Therefore I see no reason to be swayed by those Islamophobes who fear an ideological onslaught by any individual or party even remotely associated with Islamic principles and values. On the contrary I believe a turning point has been reached in Turkey whereby the nation as a whole will reconcile opposing elements embedded in its national psyche and move forward in a positive direction.

There is concern among a limited number of Western politicians and intellectuals that Gül may own the Ottoman legacy and is capable of turning Turkey toward East not the West.

This fear is wholly unsubstantiated both by the pronouncements of Mr. Erdogan and Mr. Gül, and more importantly by the policies that the AK Party government has pursued in the last five years. In the last five years Turkey has taken bold and unprecedented steps toward integration with the European Union. Ironically, it is the West that has often reciprocated in a xenophobic and racist tone by shunning Turkey from the European community. Furthermore the commitment to economic and political reform demonstrated by the AK Party should confirm those who question the government’s commitment to a reform agenda that is rooted in the betterment of Turkish society.

If the military reacts again, what sort of a message will Muslims get from this reaction?

If the military intervenes, the message to the Muslim world will be clear. Democracy is a dead end. Moderates throughout the region will be marginalized and a coup in Turkey will provide ample fodder for more extreme voices calling for more radical changes in society. We must not underestimate the potential for a military intervention to undermine the work of Muslim democrats and reformers throughout the Muslim world. Today's Zaman

Labels: anwar, Luar Negeri, Turkey

Opposition boosts Gül's presidency hopes

Today's Zaman, July 27 - Foreign Minister Abdullah Gül's troubled bid for presidency boycotted by the opposition, challenged by the military and eventually blocked by the Constitutional Court is likely to succeed this time with the leader of the opposition Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) announcing his deputies will attend the vote.

The attendance of the MHP, which has 70 seats in the 550-member Parliament, will make it easier for Parliament to reach a quorum of 367 legislators, which the Constitutional Court said was compulsory for a vote on the president to be valid. The court canceled the first vote, held in April, on the grounds that there were less than 367 deputies in attendance, upholding a complaint from the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP).

In remarks published Thursday in Milliyet and Akşam newspapers, MHP leader Devlet Bahçeli said his party would attend the next presidential vote, saying this is "what consistency requires." He said: "We will be there that day. We will enter the General Assembly Hall on the day of the voting."

Bahçeli also said that the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) has the right to elect any nominee they wish as the president, dismissing an argument from the CHP that the next president should be elected by compromise. "The decision belongs to the AK Party entirely. They can elect whomever they want," he said. "We may not back their candidate. And they don't need this either," he added, referring to the constitutional norms allowing election of the president by simple majority vote of 276 deputies in the third round of the vote. more in Today's Zaman

Labels: Luar Negeri, Turkey

May 13 - At least one million Turks took secular Turks have gathered in the city of Izmir to protest against the government in a rally organisers hope will unite the opposition ahead of elections in July.

The protest was overshadowed by a bombing on Saturday in the city which killed one man and injured 14.

It was not immediately clear who was behind the bombing.

Streets and buildings in Turkey's second largest city, including army barracks, were covered in a sea of red Turkish flags and portraits of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey.

"Turkey is secular and will remain secular," protesters chanted. "No to sharia (Islamic law)."

Local police told Reuters at least 1 million people attended the seaside rally, with no major incidents reported.

Organisers, many leftwing groups, had hoped to attract 2 million people.

Turkey's main opposition centre-left Republican People's Party (CHP) and the smaller leftist Democratic Left Party (DSP), which are in talks to form an alliance, hope to use the rally to build momentum ahead of the July 22 election.

The government of Tayyip Erdogan, the prime minister, has been forced to call a general election months ahead of schedule to defuse a conflict with Turkey's secularists over a presidential election.

Turkey's secular elite, including opposition parties, top judges and army generals, successfully blocked the election of Abdullah Gul, the foreign minister.

They feared Gul might try to undermine Turkey's separation of state and religion, a claim he and his ruling AK Party strongly deny.

The political crisis has brought about mergers between opposition parties in the hope to pass a 10 per cent threshold of votes in July to enter parliament.

Opinion polls show the centre-right AK Party is likely to win most votes in July but it may fail to win an outright majority, forcing it to form a coalition government.

A series of large anti-AK Party rallies over the past month have again brought to the surface the great divide among Turks, who are predominantly Muslim, over the role of religion amid fast economic and social change.

Izmir, a transit point for Turkey's tourism industry, has traditionally been predominantly secular and pro-western. Agencies

Labels: Luar Negeri, Turkey

YSK announces broadcasting rules for election period

Ankara, May 10 - The Supreme Election Board (YSK) has announced the pre-election rules that will govern the use of public broadcasting and advertising for election campaigning and the use of official vehicles allocated to the prime minister, ministers and deputies for campaign purposes.

According to the guidelines billboards and advertising spaces belonging to individuals or municipalities will be leased to political parties on an equal time and quantity basis. The YSK also decided that trains, subways and buses serving the general public will be prohibited from bearing political advertising and that campaign propaganda will not be allowed on highway overpasses, in religious buildings and in buildings serving the general public.

The regulations governing the campaign season that will start on July 12 are almost identical to those of previous elections in that they forbid political parties from distributing anything other than flyers and brochures, employing minors in the distribution of such material, accepting donations from nongovernmental organizations, using the Turkish flag or religious symbols on printed material and employing any language other than Turkish on their political promotions.

The YSK also regulated the use of mobile phones and SMS messages in political campaigning by banning any use of mobile phones by political offices and stating that legal and criminal responsibility will fall on the mobile phone companies if this prohibition is violated.

The YSK regulations also ban partisan political speeches and declarations at any opening or groundbreaking ceremonies for services funded by public monies, along with a ban on any advertisements on their grounds. The prime minister, ministers and deputies who are allocated official vehicles will not be able to use such conveyances for election trips after July 12, the official start of the campaign season. During campaign trips reception and farewell ceremonies as part of official protocol will not be conducted, and no public official will take part in the campaign trips of the prime minister, ministers or deputies.

Voter records on public review

Electoral records put together for the first time with the Computer-based Elector Record System (SEÇSİS) will be available for public review from today onward. Electors who are not listed for any reason, have moved recently or have any mistake in their identity information will have an opportunity to apply to the district mukhtar and correct the records. The YSK has a form for the enrolment of new votes on its official website, www.ysk.gov.tr which must be completed for application to the mukhtar.

Radio and Television Supreme Board (RTÜK) Chairman Zahid Akman has announced the election period broadcasting guidelines. Akman said RTÜK had already noticed some radio and television stations continuing to broadcast illegal advertisements and that RTÜK will inform the YSK about these companies. Akman mentioned broadcasts concerning public surveys in particular, saying that according to the regulations, broadcasting companies are required to air the results of any public survey along with its backer, methodology of survey group selection, the number of those surveyed and the methodology of data gathering as well as the dates the survey was carried out.

Labels: Luar Negeri, Pilihanraya, SPR, Turkey

May 06 - Abdullah Gul, the Turkish foreign minister, has said he will withdraw from the presidential race after opposition politicians again boycotted a parliamentary vote.

Gul's candidacy has energised secular Turks opposed to religion in politics [AFP]

Gul, the ruling Islamist-rooted AK party's candidate, failed to secure the presence of 367 parliamentary deputies needed to make the voting process valid.

The first round of voting was annulled last week by the constitutional court, which ruled that two-thirds of parliament had to be present for the poll to be valid.

Gul's candidacy has worried secularists who fear an openly religious president and millions of Turks have protested against him.

"After this... my candidacy is out of the question," Gul, who was the only candidate standing, said following the decision.

Bulent Arinc, the speaker of parliament, closed the session, saying only 358 members were present.

Military moves

The presidential elections have exposed a deepening divide between secularists and supporters of prime minister Tayyip Erdogan's ruling AK party.

Secularists oppose Gul's candidacy, fearing that Erdogan's party will expand its control and impose religion on society.

Erdogan's ruling party, an advocate of EU membership, rejects the Islamist label.

In an attempt to resolve the crisis, the government has called early general elections for July 22 and is pushing for a change to the constitution to allow the public rather than parliament to elect the president.

Gul said in an interview with The Financial Times on Friday that he would be his party's candidate if the vote went to the people, and said he believed he had the support of 70 per cent of the Turkish public.

The army, however, is also alarmed by the prospect of a former Islamist as head of state and commander-in-chief.

Military influence

The military establishment has issued a public reminder that it is the ultimate defender of the secular Turkish state.

Barnaby Phillips, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Ankara, said the military had applied "discreet but effective pressure" to undermine Gul's presidential attempt.

"The military released a statement last week saying that it didn't believe Gul was the right man for the Turkish presidency," he said.

"Probably as a direct result of that, Gul's candidacy has floundered ever since."

Turkey's military has removed four of the country's civilian governments in 50 years, but Phillips said it was unlikely the country would "see tanks on the streets" this time. Al Jazeera and agencies

Labels: Luar Negeri, Turkey

May 5 - Thousands of Turks have gathered in two western cities in the third anti-government protest in a month amid a conflict over the role of religion in the country's politics.

Saturday's protests in Canakkale and Manisa, near the Aegean coast, follow huge pro-secular rallies in Ankara and Istanbul attended by more than a million people.

Marchers called for Abdullah Gul, the presidential candidate of the ruling AK party, whose roots are in political Islam, to withdraw from the election.

Many demonstrators carried Turkish flags and posters of Kemal Ataturk, Turkey's founder who insisted on a separation of religion and state.

In Manisa, crowds shouted: "Turkey is secular and will remain secular. Count how many of us there are, Tayyip [Turkey's prime minister]."

Snap elections

Political tension is running high after a warning from the pro-secular army against Gul and a court decision to annul the first round of parliamentary voting for head of state.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan has come under heavy pressure in the run-up to presidential elections, with secularists fearing that he would expand his party's control by appointing Gul, the country's foreign minister

The pressure led Erdogan to call for early parliamentary elections, which are scheduled for July 22.

A measure is also being debated in parliament to allow the president to be elected directly by the people, rather than by parliament, which is dominated by members of Erdogan's party.

'Shadow' of the army

Gul said in an interview with the Financial Times that he would secure a majority if a popular vote was held to decide who should be the country's president.

Speaking to the newspaper on Saturday, he was critical of the court that decided on Tuesday to annul the first-round parliamentary vote on the presidency.

Gul said: "As the foreign minister, I respect and observe the court's decision, but that doesn't mean I am happy with it."

He referred to the crisis over the presidency, which prompted the military to threaten to intervene and protect the country's secular order, as a "shadow".

Gul said: "Our responsibility is to remove this shadow and to put everything on the right path."

Meanwhile, two Turkish centre-right parties merged on Saturday, which could strengthen the opposition against the ruling AK party in July's general election.

The ANAP and True Path parties, which have 20 and four seats respectively in the 550-seat parliament, announced the merger at a joint news conference and said their new name would be the Democrat party. Agencies

Labels: Luar Negeri, Turkey

May 01 - Turkey's prime minister is pushing for early polls to resolve a standoff with the country's secular groups, including the powerful military, after the country's highest court annulled the first round of presidential elections in a boost to opposition secularists.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan proposed on Tuesday that future presidents be directly elected by voters instead of parliament and said his Islamist-rooted government would seek to hold national elections as early as June 24.

Going to the people

"The parliamentary system has been blocked... We are urgently going to the people. Our people will make the best decisions," Erdogan said on television on Tuesday.

The Constitutional Court ruled that not enough parliamentarians were present when the first round of the presidential vote was held in the 550-seat assembly on Friday.

The court ruled that the government needed 367 members or two-thirds of the chamber to get its candidate, Abdullah Gul, through the first round.

Only 361 deputies voted, 357 of them for Gul, the sole candidate.

Parliament, in which the AK party has a big majority, elects the president for a seven-year term in predominantly Muslim Turkey.

The secularist establishment says Erdogan and Gul, who is foreign minister, want to break the separation of state and religion, but the two men have rejected the charge.

Analysts say early national polls are the only way to defuse the standoff.

Secular groups have been calling for early national polls which were initially scheduled for November.

They want the secular system established by the founder of modern Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, 84 years ago, to be retained.

But a growing class of prosperous and more religious-minded Turks want a relaxation of curbs on religious symbols and expression.

Markets rattled

Erdogan's AK party is widely expected to win the presidential polls, but the standoff has rattled Turkey's financial markets, recording their biggest falls in a year on Monday.

The Turkish currency lost more ground on Tuesday as concern grew about possible instability after an anti-government rally of up to one million on Sunday and the army's threat to intervene in politics to prevent an Islamist president from the threatening the country's secular constitution and identity.

Erdogan tried to sound a positive note on Tuesday.

"I see Turkish markets will improve in the next few days with our positive steps in politics," he said.

"I told EU officials Turkey would return to a more democratic process with elections, and the democratic process in Turkey will successfully continue.

Defiance

Erdogan, in a clear move to identify with the people, proposed that future presidents be elected by voters instead of parliament.

The government has also made remarks in a display of unprecedented defiance against Turkey's military generals.

"In democracies there is no better way of making warnings [to the government] than ballot boxes," Erdogan said.

The Turkish army has ousted four governments since 1960, the last in 1997.

Shock defeat

Barnaby Phillips, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Ankara, said the court ruling was a clear defeat for the ruling party and there was disappointment within.

"Senior AK party officials have told us they did not expect this verdict," he said.

Parliament will vote again on Wednesday before an election date is set, government officials said.

Phillips said the AK party may go to parliament anyway and try and resume the process of getting Gul elected as president.

He said they may be hoping to do a deal with some of the smaller parties, particularly with the Motherland party which has about 20 members.

"If they do succeed in winning them over, they may succeed in getting the majority that they need to get Abdullah Gul elected as president," he said. Al Jazeera and agencies

Labels: Luar Negeri, Turkey

Court rules Turkish poll invalid

May 01 - Turkey's highest court has ruled the first round of presidential elections invalid, raising the possibility of early national elections.

Another round of presidential polls would instead be held in parliament on Wednesday, the government said on Tuesday.

The Constitutional Court upheld on Tuesday an appeal from the secularist opposition that wants to stop Abdullah Gul, the ruling Islamist-rooted AK party's candidate and foreign minister, becoming head of state.

Hasim Kilic, deputy head of the court, told a news conference: "A decision was taken to stop the process."

The court ruled that 367 members of parliament had to be present during voting for it to be valid.

Only 361 deputies voted in last Friday's presidential ballot, 357 of them for Gul, the sole candidate.

The court ruled that this number was insufficient and that the small turnout rendered the vote invalid. The court's decision is final and cannot be over-ruled.

Tayyip Erdogan, the prime minister, could now propose a different candidate for the job.

Army's role

The army has publicly threatend to intervene in politics to prevent an Islamist president from the threatening the country's secular constitution and identity.

The military, which sees itself as the final guarantor of the secular state, has ousted four governments in the past 50 years, most recently in 1997 when it acted against a cabinet in which Gul served.

Philip Barnaby, al Jazeera's correspondent in Ankara, said that the verdict was a clear defeat for the ruling party and said that within the AK party there is disappointment with this decision.

"Senior AK party officals have told us they did not expect this verdict," he said.

"We have heard that they may go to parliament anyway and try and resume the process of getting Abdullah Gul elected as president."

He also said that "they may be hoping to do a deal with some of the smaller parties - particularly with the Motherland Party which only has 20 members. If they do succeed in winning them over, they may succeed in getting the majority that they need to get Abdullah Gul elected as president.

"They need to win over some 15-20 members of parliament. This may hinge on winning over some of the members of some of the smaller parties."

Markets crash

Turkish financial markets reacted badly to the threat of political instability and recorded their biggest falls in a year on Monday and the currency lost more ground on Tuesday. The lira recovered some ground on the news late in trade.

Ali Babacan, the economy minister, said the economy was ready for early elections, a comment seen as an attempt to calm markets.

The secularist establishment fears if the AK party secures control of the presidency it will chip away at Turkey's secular system. The party denies the charge.

Parliament, in which the AK party has a big majority, elects the president for a seven-year term in predominantly Muslim Turkey.

Analysts say early national polls are the only way to defuse the standoff.

Damla Aras, a Turkish political analyst in London, told Al Jazeera that the Constitutional Court's decision had not come as a surprise.

"In the past few weeks, the army has been giving clear signals that it did not want Abdullah Gul or anybody from the AK Party as the president."

She also felt that a fresh round of national polls, if held, would not be before August. Agencies

Labels: Luar Negeri, Turkey

Barah sekularisma! Penentangan mereka terhadap Islam datang dalam berbagai rupa. Ini pula berita dari Turki, selepas kehangatan tindak-tanduk pembela sekularisma di Ijok (teringat kata-kata pemimpin tinggi BN mengundi (wakil rakyat) tidak kena mengena dengan dosa dan pahala!)

April 29 - More than one million secular Turks have protested in Istanbul against the government amid a tense stand-off between the Islamic-led government and the army over presidential elections.

The crowd, carrying Turkish flags, filled Istanbul's Caglayan Square, on Sunday, in a demonstration organised by about 600 non-governmental organisations.

Pic - More than a million Turks rallied in Istanbul to protest against the government of Recep Tayyip Erdogan

Police at the scene said that the number of demonstrators, from Turkey and abroad, was well over one million.

"Turkey is secular and will remain secular," protesters shouted, demanding the resignation of the government headed by Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey's prime minister.

Al Jazeera's Barnaby Phillps met many women at the rally who said they fear that their way of life, what they call a modern way of life, is under threat by the possible spread of "political Islam".

The rally came a day after Erdogan's government rejected a warning from the military over the country's disputed presidential election, calling its interference unacceptable.

No withdrawal

Abdullah Gul, Turkey's foreign minister and election candidate for the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), said on Sunday he would not withdraw his candidacy after he failed to win a first-round victory in a parliamentary vote on Friday.

"It is out of the question for me to withdraw my candidacy in any way," he said.

Although Gul is the sole candidate in the election, he missed out on election in Friday's vote due to a boycott by opposition groups who object to Gul's alleged Islamist past.

The result of the vote prompted a military statement that some interpreted as a robust defence of Turkey's secular character.

Gul said his decision to run for the presidency was "taken in a night" but the result of lengthy negotiations.

Court appeal

The main opposition Republican People's Party has asked the constitutional court to cancel Friday's vote, arguing that the session of parliament was inquorate.

If the court agrees, general elections set for November 4 could be brought forward.

If not, Gul could be president in a third round vote on May 9, when he needs only an absolute majority in the AKP-dominated parliament.

The prospect of Gul as president has alarmed secularists who suspect the AKP of having a secret Islamist agenda.

The ruling party argues that it is now committed to secular principles.

Sunday's protest comes after 300,000 pro-secular Turks demonstrated in Ankara two weeks ago, and highlights widening divisions between Turkey's secular and Islamic camps. Agencies

Labels: Luar Negeri, Turkey

Gul to stand for Turkish presidency

April 24 - Abdullah Gul, the Turkish foreign minister, has been chosen as the ruling party's presidential candidate for a series of parliamentray elections beginning this week.

Tayyip Erdogan, the prime minister, announced Gul's candidacy, ending speculation that he would enter the race himself.

Tayyip Erdogan [R], the Turkish prime minister, announced Gul's candidacy [AFP]

He had come under intense pressure from the country's secular establishment, which includes the army, not to run for president himself because of his religous past.

Secularists had hoped Erdogan would pick a consensus candidate to run in the election.

Parliament, where his ruling AK party has a big majority, elects the president.

Erdogan told a gathering of AK parliamentarians: "After all our research and discussions for the 11th president, our dear foreign minister Abdullah Gul has been proposed for the presidency."

Secular protests

Gul is a respected diplomat, who has overseen the launch of European Union accession talks as foreign minister.

Senior members of the AK party, which has roots in political Islam, have said they are concerned that they would lose votes in a November general election if Erdogan, Turkey's most charismatic politician, became president and quit party politics.

Erdogan has never said he would run but had strongly hinted at the possibility.

April 25 is the deadline for registration of candidates. Parliament will begin the first round of votes on April 27. The key vote will be held on May 9.

Elections for parliament are due in November.

The constitution says the president must remain impartial and cannot get involved in national politics, which would bar Erdogan from campaigning.

Pressure had mounted on the government in recent weeks.

Earlier this month, more than 350,000 people rallied in Ankara against a possible Erdogan presidency.

Erdogan is accused of undermining secularism by, for example, trying to ease restrictions on the Muslim headscarf and promoting religious supporters in the bureaucracy.

The armed forces chief General Yasar Buyukanit and outgoing president Ahmet Necdet Sezer have warned of threats posed to the republic in comments seen as warnings to Erdogan. Agencies

Labels: Luar Negeri, Turkey