Republic Protests - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Republic Protests were a series of peaceful mass rallies that took place in Turkey

Turkey

Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

in 2007 in support of a strict principle of state secularism.

The first rally took place in Ankara

Ankara

Ankara is the capital of Turkey and the country's second largest city after Istanbul. The city has a mean elevation of , and as of 2010 the metropolitan area in the entire Ankara Province had a population of 4.4 million....

on 14 April just two days before the start of the presidential election

Turkish presidential election, 2007

The 2007 Turkish presidential election refers to two attempts to elect the country's 11th president, to succeed Ahmet Necdet Sezer. The most likely candidate for president was Abdullah Gül...

process. The second one took place in Istanbul

Istanbul

Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...

on 29 April. The third and fourth rallies took place consecutively in Manisa

Manisa

Manisa is a large city in Turkey's Aegean Region and the administrative seat of Manisa Province.Modern Manisa is a booming center of industry and services, advantaged by its closeness to the international port city and the regional metropolitan center of İzmir and by its fertile hinterland rich in...

and Çanakkale

Çanakkale

Çanakkale is a town and seaport in Turkey, in Çanakkale Province, on the southern coast of the Dardanelles at their narrowest point. The population of the town is 106,116 . The mayor is Ülgür Gökhan ....

on 5 May. The fifth rally took place in İzmir

Izmir

Izmir is a large metropolis in the western extremity of Anatolia. The metropolitan area in the entire Izmir Province had a population of 3.35 million as of 2010, making the city third most populous in Turkey...

on 13 May.

The number of people gathering for the first protest in front of Anıtkabir

Anitkabir

Anıtkabir is the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the leader of the Turkish War of Independence and the founder and first president of the Republic of Turkey...

, the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk was an Ottoman and Turkish army officer, revolutionary statesman, writer, and the first President of Turkey. He is credited with being the founder of the Republic of Turkey....

in Ankara, was cited as ranging from "hundreds of thousands" to 1.5 million people. In the second protest, more than one million people gathered for the protests in Çağlayan square, Istanbul

Istanbul

according to AFP

Agence France-Presse

Agence France-Presse is a French news agency, the oldest one in the world, and one of the three largest with Associated Press and Reuters. It is also the largest French news agency. Currently, its CEO is Emmanuel Hoog and its news director Philippe Massonnet...

and Reuters

Reuters

Reuters is a news agency headquartered in New York City. Until 2008 the Reuters news agency formed part of a British independent company, Reuters Group plc, which was also a provider of financial market data...

. The BBC

BBC

The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

reported hundreds of thousands of people. Over one million people reportedly participated in the fifth rally.

Antecedent

Turkey's preservation and maintenance of its secular

Secularism

Secularism is the principle of separation between government institutions and the persons mandated to represent the State from religious institutions and religious dignitaries...

identity has been an issue and source of tension long before the demonstration. In the past, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan

Recep Tayyip Erdogan

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has been Prime Minister of Turkey since 2003 and is chairman of the ruling Justice and Development Party , which holds a majority of the seats in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. Erdoğan served as Mayor of Istanbul from 1994 to 1998. He graduated in 1981 from Marmara...

has spoken out against the active restrictions on wearing the Islamic-style head scarves

Hijab

The word "hijab" or "'" refers to both the head covering traditionally worn by Muslim women and modest Muslim styles of dress in general....

in government offices and schools, and taken steps to bolster religious institutions. According to the Guardian Unlimited, Erdoğan showed his Islamist nature when he initiated a move in 2004 to criminalize adultery

Adultery

Adultery is sexual infidelity to one's spouse, and is a form of extramarital sex. It originally referred only to sex between a woman who was married and a person other than her spouse. Even in cases of separation from one's spouse, an extramarital affair is still considered adultery.Adultery is...

, which eventually failed under intense pressure from the secularist forces in the country and the European Union

European Union

The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...

, which Turkey has been trying to join

Accession of Turkey to the European Union

Turkey's application to accede to the European Union was made on 14 April 1987. Turkey has been an associate member of the European Union and its predecessors since 1963...

.

General

General

A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....

Yaşar Büyükanıt

Yasar Büyükanit

General Mehmet Yaşar Büyükanıt was the 25th Chief of the Turkish General Staff of the Turkish Armed Forces, from 28 August 2006 to 28 August 2008.-Biography:...

, chief of the Turkish military

Chief of the Turkish General Staff

The General Staff of the Republic of Turkey presides over the Armed Forces of the Republic of Turkey, comprising the Army, Navy and Air Force...

, warned against Islamic fundamentalism in October 2006. Prime minister Erdoğan replied, stating that there was no such threat. In a press conference two days prior to the demonstration Büyükanıt stated: "We hope that someone is elected president who is loyal to the principles of the republic — not just in words but in essence." This statement was widely interpreted as a hint from the General urging Erdoğan not to run.

The serving president, Ahmet Necdet Sezer

Ahmet Necdet Sezer

- External links :* , Presidency of the Republic of Turkey...

, aimed a clear swipe at Erdoğan the day before the demonstrations by stating that "The threat which Islamic fundamentalism

Islamic fundamentalism

Islamic fundamentalism is a term used to describe religious ideologies seen as advocating a return to the "fundamentals" of Islam: the Quran and the Sunnah. Definitions of the term vary. According to Christine L...

poses to the country is higher than ever." Although the post is mainly ceremonial, the Turkish president has the power to veto laws if he holds them to be in violation of the Constitution of Turkey

Constitution of Turkey

This article relates to a current event. See also the Turkish constitutional referendum, 2010The Constitution of the Republic of Turkey is Turkey's fundamental law. It establishes the organization of the government and sets out the principles and rules of the state's conduct along with its...

, as well as to veto appointments to the highest positions of the state administration, such as the presidencies of universities and many public institutions. Sezer, a former chief of the Constitutional Court, did so many times during his years in office. In a recent poll by Hürriyet

Hürriyet

-External links:* * ** * *...

, a majority of the participants agreed with the president's assessment.

On April 24, foreign minister Abdullah Gül

Abdullah Gül

Dr. Abdullah Gül, GCB is the 11th and current President of the Republic of Turkey, serving in that office since 28 August 2007. He previously served for four months as Prime Minister from 2002-03, and as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2003-07....

was announced as the official candidate of Justice and Development Party

Justice and Development Party (Turkey)

The Justice and Development Party , abbreviated JDP in English and AK PARTİ or AKP in Turkish, is a centre-right political party in Turkey. The party is the largest in Turkey, with 327 members of parliament...

, by Erdoğan. His candidacy was controversial from the beginning due to his background of two proscribed Islamic political parties, and his statement "We want to change the secular system", in an interview published by the Guardian

The Guardian

The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...

in 1995. Nevertheless additional concerns were also present, including the effect of the hijab-style clothing

Hijab

The word "hijab" or "'" refers to both the head covering traditionally worn by Muslim women and modest Muslim styles of dress in general....

of his spouse on Turkey's image, who previously filed a case against Turkey for the ban in the public buildings.

First rally (Tandoğan rally, Ankara)

On 14 April the first protest took place in Tandoğan square in Ankara. The number of people gathering in front of Anıtkabir

Anitkabir

Anıtkabir is the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the leader of the Turkish War of Independence and the founder and first president of the Republic of Turkey...

, the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk was an Ottoman and Turkish army officer, revolutionary statesman, writer, and the first President of Turkey. He is credited with being the founder of the Republic of Turkey....

in Ankara, was cited as ranging from "hundreds of thousands" to 1.5 million people. The first protest was one of the largest that Turkey

Turkey

Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

had seen in years until then. The target of the first protest was the possible presidential

President of Turkey

The President of Turkey is the head of state of the Republic of Turkey. The presidency is largely a ceremonial office but has some important functions...

candidacy of the current Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan

Recep Tayyip Erdogan

(the outcome of which will be determined by the Turkish Grand National Assembly (unless the recent modifications on the constitution become ratified on time), in which Erdoğan's Justice and Development Party (AKP)

Justice and Development Party (Turkey)

has a healthy majority). Erdoğan decided not to run for president after the rally.

The slogan of the protest was Claim Your Republic . According to the Ministry of the General Staff of the Turkish Armed Forces, who administer Anıtkabir

Anitkabir

Anıtkabir is the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the leader of the Turkish War of Independence and the founder and first president of the Republic of Turkey...

, 370,000 people visited the monument on that day, but eyewitness accounts from those who participated say that at least twice that amount was not able to enter the crowded grounds (see photo). Police announcements gave conflicting numbers ranging from about 70,000 to 150,000 participants which was criticized among police officials themselves stating "such announcements hurt the credibility of the department."
CNN Türk

CNN Turk

CNN Türk is the Turkish version of the popular cable news channel CNN. CNN Türk is a nationwide channel broadcasting exclusively in Turkey, owned by Time Warner and Doğan Medya Grubu, broadcasting since October 11, 1999. It has its headquarters in Istanbul....

spoke of more than 650,000 at the meeting.

The demonstrators had different motives, including the suspicion that Erdoğan, who is thought to be attached to political Islam, will alter the secular state

Secularism in Turkey

Secularism in Turkey defines the relationship between religion and state in the country of Turkey. Secularism was first introduced with the 1928 amendment of the Constitution of 1924, which removed the provision declaring that the "Religion of the State is Islam", and with the later reforms of...

. Erdoğan's government denies having an Islamic agenda, but according to CNN

CNN

Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...

, some critics argue that the government is inching the country towards increased religious rule. Erdoğan has had run-ins with the law in the past: He was tried and convicted for "inciting religious hatred" and had consequently served a four month jail term in 2000 while he was the Mayor of Istanbul

Istanbul

, Turkey's most populous city. According to the Guardian Unlimited, the pro-Islamic prime minister's party has been eroding secularists' longtime grip on power.

The protest was initiated by the "Association of Kemalist Ideology

Kemalist ideology

Kemalist Ideology, "Kemalism" or also known as the "Six Arrows" is the principle that defines the basic characteristics of the Republic of Turkey. It was developed by the Turkish national movement and its leader Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.-Fundamentals:...

" and supported by around 300 non-governmental organization

Non-governmental organization

A non-governmental organization is a legally constituted organization created by natural or legal persons that operates independently from any government. The term originated from the United Nations , and is normally used to refer to organizations that do not form part of the government and are...

s in Turkey. First some 60,000 people who travelled from all over Turkey by bus arrived to the protest in the early hours of Saturday, 14 April. People travelled by train and the residents of Ankara joined the protest overfilling Tandoğan Square and the nearby streets two hours before the official beginning. Among the protesters were also leaders of the opposition parties, Deniz Baykal

Deniz Baykal

Deniz Baykal is a Turkish politician. He was a long-time leader of the Republican People's Party .-Biography:...

(CHP), Zeki Sezer

Zeki Sezer

Mehmet Zeki Sezer is a Turkish politician and former chairman of the Democratic Left Party , he was elected in the 6th ordinary party congress in 2004 after the resignation of Bülent Ecevit....

(DSP) and some professors of various universities wearing academic regalia. Protesters, waving the Turkish flag and carrying banners depicting Atatürk, chanted "Turkey is secular and will remain secular" and "We don't want an imam

Imam

An imam is an Islamic leadership position, often the worship leader of a mosque and the Muslim community. Similar to spiritual leaders, the imam is the one who leads Islamic worship services. More often, the community turns to the mosque imam if they have a religious question...

as president!" . The demonstration in downtown Ankara ended at 13:00 local time (10:00 GMT). Afterwards, the crowd marched to the Anıtkabir to pay their respect to the founder of the republic.

During the demonstrations, flight above Tandoğan Square and Anıtkabir was banned. Twelve ambulances and eleven police APC

Armoured personnel carrier

An armoured personnel carrier is an armoured fighting vehicle designed to transport infantry to the battlefield.APCs are usually armed with only a machine gun although variants carry recoilless rifles, anti-tank guided missiles , or mortars...

s were kept at standby in the surrounding streets. A contingent of 10,000 police officers watched over the crowd, but the demonstration ended peacefully.

Although the demonstrations received international media attention, all but one (Kanal Türk

Kanal Türk

Kanal Türk is a TV channel in Turkey supports secularism and nationalism. It is broadcast by Digiturk satellite network.Founded by Tuncay Özkan in 2004. Özkan sold the channel in May 2008 and moved all stations to his new launched TV channel Kanal Biz. Özkan was detained in September 2008 in the...

) of the local networks gave the demonstrations very little coverage. Habertürk director Melih Meriç said the lack of local coverage is because of political pressure.

Aftermath of the first rally

On 16 April in an interview en route to Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

onboard the prime minister's jet, Erdoğan said that the demonstration would not affect his decisions (at the time he had not yet decided whether to run). Bülent Arınç

Bülent Arinç

Bülent Arınç , is a Turkish politician. He served as the 22nd house speaker of the Parliament of Turkey from 2002 to 2007. He is one of the State Ministers of Turkey and Vice-Prime Minister today.-Life and education:...

, Speaker of the Turkish Parliament, commented that "they will elect a civilian, democratic and religious president". He also said that "not the regime but the power of the backers of status quo

Status quo

Statu quo, a commonly used form of the original Latin "statu quo" – literally "the state in which" – is a Latin term meaning the current or existing state of affairs. To maintain the status quo is to keep the things the way they presently are...

was in danger". In response to the protests Eyüp Fatsa, AKP group chief representative, stated that "if they [AKP] decided to hold such a demonstration they could gather ten times as many people" and that the parliament does not decide based on crowd gatherings. A Reuters

Reuters

article that appeared in the French

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

newspaper

Newspaper

A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...

Le Monde

Le Monde is a French daily evening newspaper owned by La Vie-Le Monde Group and edited in Paris. It is one of two French newspapers of record, and has generally been well respected since its first edition under founder Hubert Beuve-Méry on 19 December 1944...

stated that if Erdoğan became president, Turkey would face its greatest political crisis since the creation of the Turkish Republic in 1923, noting the intricate connections between the secular elites and the army, and that the Chief of the Turkish Armed Forces had warned people of the danger threatening Turkish secularism. The article also reported that the Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi (Republican People's Party), the main opposition party, have declared their intention to leave the parliament and ask the Constitutional Court to cancel Erdoğan's running in the elections.

On 18 April Arzuhan Doğan Yalçındağ, the president of the Association of Turkish Businessman and Industrialists (TÜSİAD), stated that she felt Erdoğan would not stand as a candidate in the presidential election.
On 24 April after these weeks of debate over who would run for the presidency, foreign minister Abdullah Gül

Abdullah Gül

was put forward as the only candidate. Jonathan Rugman, a British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

reporter in Turkey for the Guardian, had published an article on 27 November 1995 following an interview with Abdullah Gül, who was then a member of the Welfare Party and made remarks such as "the Republican Era is over" . Immediately following the announcement, a group of 14 people was arrested for gathering to protest his candidacy in front of the Çankaya Palace (the presidential complex). After the arrest, smaller groups also gathered, chanting "if carrying the Turkish flag is a crime, take us too" . Drivers passing by reportedly showed support by waving flags from their cars. A similar protest took place in Kuğulu park. When asked about this at a reception, General

General

Ergin Saygun responded by quoting the 12 April speech of Yaşar Büyükanıt

Yasar Büyükanit

General Mehmet Yaşar Büyükanıt was the 25th Chief of the Turkish General Staff of the Turkish Armed Forces, from 28 August 2006 to 28 August 2008.-Biography:...

. When further inquired what he thought about the new commander-in-chief's wife having an Islamic headscarf, Saygun replied by saying that the answer to the question was inside it.

On 25 April when inquired about his wife's Islamic headscarf, Gül responded by saying his wife's decision should be respected and treated as a personal right.. The same day there was an assassination attempt on the YÖK

Yok

*Sai Yok* see Yok-Utian languages*Yok weaving technique, see Thai-style dresses*Yok, a Turkish copula, negation of "to be"*YÖK , an abbreviation for the Commission for Higher Education, Turkey...

president Dr. Erdoğan Teziç who is known for his secularist remarks. Three rounds were fired by a 30-year-old man identified as Nurullah İlgün. İlgün was arrested the same day.

On 27 April, with only 353 parliamentarians present, the AKP failed to achieve a quorum of 367, and Gül's candidacy failed at the first round despite a majority of those present voting in favour. Due to the lack of necessary participation and several alleged violations of the constitution, the vote was taken to the constitutional court to be discussed over the weekend. Later the same day the Turkish Armed Forces

Turkish Armed Forces

The Turkish Armed Forces are the military forces of the Republic of Turkey. They consist of the Army, the Navy , and the Air Force...

released a statement warning that they are a party to this debate and the absolute defender of secularism, and that when necessary they would display their attitudes and actions very clearly. This led to an increase in tensions between the AKP and the Turkish Armed Forces.

Second rally (Çağlayan rally, İstanbul)

On 29 April a second rally was organized to start at 13:00 local time. Hundreds of thousands to more than one million gathered for the second protest at Abide-i Hürriyet (Monument of Liberty) in Çağlayan square in Istanbul in support of secularism in Turkey

Secularism in Turkey

and against the candidacy of Abdullah Gül

Abdullah Gül

in the 2007 presidential election

Turkish presidential election, 2007

The 2007 Turkish presidential election refers to two attempts to elect the country's 11th president, to succeed Ahmet Necdet Sezer. The most likely candidate for president was Abdullah Gül...

.

The rally was organised by Çağdaş Yaşamı Destekleme Derneği (Association in Support of Contemporary Living), Cumhuriyet Kadınları Derneği (Association of Republic's Women), and other women's NGO

Non-governmental organization

's.

At 15:22, mobile phone base stations were overloaded. Mobile phones in and around Çağlayan became inoperable.

At 15:30, Tuncay Özkan, owner of Kanaltürk, displayed a video of several statements by the current prime minister Erdoğan to the square full of protesters. These statements were:

1993 - One can't be a secular and a Muslim at the same time
1997 - Will this democracy be the goal or the tool?
2000 - Esteemed Öcalan
Abdullah Öcalan
Abdullah Öcalan , Kurdish founder of the terrorist organization called Kurdistan Workers' Party in 1978.Öcalan was captured in Nairobi and extradited to the Turkish security force, and sentenced to death under Article 125 of the Turkish Penal Code, which concerns the formation of armed gangs...

is paying the price for the heads he had taken, not for his ideas

Abdullah Öcalan
Abdullah Öcalan
Abdullah Öcalan , Kurdish founder of the terrorist organization called Kurdistan Workers' Party in 1978.Öcalan was captured in Nairobi and extradited to the Turkish security force, and sentenced to death under Article 125 of the Turkish Penal Code, which concerns the formation of armed gangs...

is the leader of the armed militant group Kurdistan Workers Party
Kurdistan Workers Party
The Kurdistan Workers' Party , commonly known as PKK, also known as KGK and formerly known as KADEK or KONGRA-GEL , is a Kurdish organization which has since 1984 been fighting an armed struggle against the Turkish state for an autonomous Kurdistan and greater cultural and political rights...

(PKK) which is considered a terrorist organization by Turkey, European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...

, NATO.
2005 - The thing that unites us is the "upper identity"
2006 - I vouch for Yassin al-Qadi

Yassin al-Qadi was allegedly among the people who financially supported September 11, 2001 attacks
2006 - Go and take your mother with you.

Comment was directed at a farmer in Mersin
Mersin
-Mersin today:Today, Mersin is a large city spreading out along the coast, with Turkey's second tallest skyscraper , huge hotels, an opera house, expensive real estate near the sea or up in the hills, and many other modern urban...

asking for government assistance
2006 - Your child can also be unemployed, why do we care?

Comment was directed at an unemployed individual asking for government assistance
2007 - Embarked forces of eighty-one provinces

Referring to the previous protest in Tandoğan

At 16:00 the speeches ended and the crowds began to disperse. At 16:30 the protests officially ended without incident.

Aftermath of the second rally

On April 30, the Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdoğan

Recep Tayyip Erdogan

told he would address the country amid the crisis over the presidential election that has pitted secularists, including the army, against his Islam

Islam

Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...

ist-rooted government.

On May 1 in his public address Prime Minister Erdoğan called for unity. He said: "Unity, togetherness, solidarity, these are the things we need most. We can overcome many problems so long as we treat each other with love,¨ he also said: "Turkey is growing and developing very fast ... We must protect this atmosphere of stability and tranquility,¨

On May 2 the Turkish Constitutional Court

Turkish Constitutional Court

The Constitutional Court of Turkey is the highest legal body for constitutional review in Turkey. It "examines the constitutionality, in respect of both form and substance, of laws, decrees having the force of law, and the Rules of Procedure of the Turkish Grand National Assembly"...

ruled (9-2) that the first round of the presidential elections as void due to insufficient participation. Haşim Kılıç

Hasim Kiliç

Haşim Kılıç is a high-ranked judge and the President of the Constitutional Court of Turkey since October 22, 2007.-Biography:Kılıç was born in Hacı Hasanlı village of Çiçekdağı district of the Kırşehir Province in Turkey. In 1968 he attended Eskişehir Academy of Economics and Commerce and...

and Sacit Adalı were the only two Constitutional court members who voted against this. Former presidential candidate Abdullah Gül stated that an election should be held as soon as possible and the people should elect the president directly. Erdoğan announced that there would be an early election on 24 June or 1 July. Erdoğan said that the constitutional court decision was a bullet to democracy. Late that night Sabih Kanadoğlu, a former justice in Turkish High Court of Appeals, objected the early vote and argued that it was unconstitutional. He also claimed that these attempts to maneuver around the law would lead to further crisis. Kanadoğlu was also the person who pointed out the "367 parliamentarian requirement" law. A new controversy arose with the approaching end of term of the current president Sezer on 16 May. Speaker of the Parliament Bülent Arınç

Bülent Arinç

stated that the current president "would have to unfortunately retire" which would make Arınç the proxy president until a president is elected. However lawmakers argue that the current president would continue to serve until a replacement is elected.

On May 3 Turkey's Parliament moved up elections to July 22 2007, after the Islam

Islam

Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...

ic-rooted ruling party and its secular opposition agreed that an early ballot was the only way out of their standoff over political Islam.

On May 4 the election calender for the early election has been put forward. A total of 21 political parties have registered to run for the election. A CNN International

CNN International

CNN International is an international English language television network that carries news, current affairs, politics, opinions, and business programming worldwide. CNN is one of the world's largest news organizations. It is owned by Time Warner, and is affiliated with CNN, which is mainly...

QuickVote resulted in 24% Yes vs 76% No on a question whether or not the Turkish democracy was hurt by the warning of the Turkish millitary.

Third rally (Sultan rally, Manisa) and Fourth rally (Cumhuriyet rally, Çanakkale)

On May 5 two rallies took place consecutively in Manisa

Manisa

and in Çanakkale

Çanakkale

with tens of thousands of participants reported at each event.

The rally in Manisa started at 10:00 local time in Sultan square. Manisa is the hometown of Bülent Arınç

Bülent Arinç

member of AKP and current speaker of the Turkish parliament.

The rally in Çanakkale started at 13:30 with an estimated participation of 25,000 people. A contingent of 400 police officers watched over the crowd.

Aftermath of the third and fourth rallies

On 6 May Gül announced that he was withdrawing his candidacy right after a second vote which also failed because the parliamentary session did not achieve the 367-member quorum.

On 7 May an amendment to the Turkish constitution, allowing the president to be elected directly by the people rather than by a parliamentary vote, was passed by 350 votes to 56. Founder of Borusan Holding Asım Kocabıyık stated that if the AKP gained 50% popular support in the upcoming general elections the country would be lost.

On 8 May a request by the Young Party

Young Party

The Young Party is a nationalist, statist, secular, republican, political party in Turkey.-2002 elections:Cem Uzan entered politics 90 days before the 2002 elections. Young Party was not eligible to enter the elections and Yeniden Doğuş Partisi was a small party which was eligible to enter...

to move the date for the early election to an earlier date of 22 June was declined.

On 9 May president Sezer implied that he would veto amendments to the Turkish constitution, stating that the amendments had been passed at a very heated time. The European Union

European Union

raised a similar objection. Foreign (non-Turkish) press also reported the expectation of a presidential veto on the AKP's recent amendments to the Turkish constitution.

On 10 May further amendments to the Turkish constitution were officially passed by parliament, 376 to 1. According to the amendments, general elections will be carried out every four years rather than five. The president will now serve a maximum of two five-year terms instead of an unrestricted number of seven-year terms. The president will now be elected by the people rather than the parliament. President Sezer has 15 days to review the amendments and decide whether or not to veto and return the amendments to the parliament.

On 11 May when asked about the amendments to the Turkish constitution, which now allow the president to be elected directly by the people rather than by a parliamentary vote, Gül announced that his candidacy is ongoing, despite stating on 6 May that he had withdrawn his candidacy. YÖK president Dr. Erdoğan Teziç, who survived an assassination attempt on 25 April 2007 criticized the AKP heavily, stating that they do not just seek political power but also increased government power and also are trying to use YÖK to this end.

On 12 May a bomb placed on a bicycle was detonated in a market in İzmir wounding fifteen people just a day before the scheduled "republic protest" in the city. One of the wounded was in a critical condition and later died in the hospital while most of the others were lightly wounded and were released from the hospital the same day. No one claimed responsibility for the bombing. A second abandoned bicycle caused some panic but it was later determined that it was harmless.

Fifth rally (Gündoğdu rally, İzmir)

On May 13 a fifth rally took place in Gündoğdu square, İzmir

Izmir

. Reportedly over one million people gathered in İzmir for the rally to demand their country remain a secular state

Secular state

A secular state is a concept of secularism, whereby a state or country purports to be officially neutral in matters of religion, supporting neither religion nor irreligion. A secular state also claims to treat all its citizens equally regardless of religion, and claims to avoid preferential...

, stepping up pressure on the Islamist-rooted Justice and Development Party (AKP)

Justice and Development Party (Turkey)

government before July elections

Turkish presidential election, 2007

The 2007 Turkish presidential election refers to two attempts to elect the country's 11th president, to succeed Ahmet Necdet Sezer. The most likely candidate for president was Abdullah Gül...

. The municipal harbor officials confirmed that just the number of citizens traveling by public ferry to the event site numbered over 350,000.

Leaders of the three leftist parties, namely Deniz Baykal

Deniz Baykal

Deniz Baykal is a Turkish politician. He was a long-time leader of the Republican People's Party .-Biography:...

of the CHP, Zeki Sezer

Zeki Sezer

Mehmet Zeki Sezer is a Turkish politician and former chairman of the Democratic Left Party , he was elected in the 6th ordinary party congress in 2004 after the resignation of Bülent Ecevit....

of DSP, and Murat Karayalçın

Murat Karayalçin

Murat Karayalçın is a prominent Turkish politician. He is a former foreign minister and a former mayor of Ankara .Karayalçın is the founder of Social Democratic People's Party...

of SHP were also among the demonstrators.

Security for the event was tightened with 5,000 police officers watching over the rally.

Slogans from the rallies

[We demand] neither sharia, nor a coup, but a totally independent Turkey.

Referring to the statement by the Turkish Armed Forces with "coup" reference.

Referring to the roots of Erdoğan and Gül with "sharia" reference
Turkey is secular, and secular it will remain.
We want no ABD
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

-ullah as president!

ABD is Turkish abbreviation of United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

and hence a pun; USA-ullah
Cabinet, resign!
Neither EU, nor USA. Totally independent Turkey!

ABD is Turkish abbreviation of United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

AB is Turkish abbreviation of European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...

The phrase "Totally independent Turkey" was a frequently used slogan by leftist student groups during the turmoil between 1960-1980.
The roads to Çankaya are closed to sharia.

Referring to where the presidential palace is located in Çankaya, Ankara
Forefather, rest in peace, we are here.

Referring to Atatürk as "forefather"
We don't want an imam
Imam
An imam is an Islamic leadership position, often the worship leader of a mosque and the Muslim community. Similar to spiritual leaders, the imam is the one who leads Islamic worship services. More often, the community turns to the mosque imam if they have a religious question...

in Çankaya.

Referring to the background of Erdoğan
Tayyip take a look at us, count how many of us there are!

Referring to the disdainful statements of Erdoğan after the first protest "Goodness gracious, they're talking about millions"
Turkey sobered up and the imam passed out!

Seemingly referring to Erdoğan, and as a pun to imam bayıldı
Imam bayildi
Imam bayildi one of the most notable Turkish zeytinyağlı dishes, is braised eggplant stuffed with onion, garlic and tomatoes...

.
Even Edison
Thomas Edison
Thomas Alva Edison was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices that greatly influenced life around the world, including the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and a long-lasting, practical electric light bulb. In addition, he created the world’s first industrial...

regrets it!

Referring to the emblem of the Justice and Development Party
Justice and Development Party (Turkey)
The Justice and Development Party , abbreviated JDP in English and AK PARTİ or AKP in Turkish, is a centre-right political party in Turkey. The party is the largest in Turkey, with 327 members of parliament...

, which is an image of a lightbulb
As the sun rises, lightbulbs dim.

Referring to the emblem of the Justice and Development Party
Justice and Development Party (Turkey)
The Justice and Development Party , abbreviated JDP in English and AK PARTİ or AKP in Turkish, is a centre-right political party in Turkey. The party is the largest in Turkey, with 327 members of parliament...

, which is an image of a lightbulb
Buy Tayyip, get Aydın Doğan
Aydin Dogan
Aydın Doğan is a Turkish entrepreneur and businessman.-Biography:Born in 1936 as a member of a well-known family in Kelkit, Aydin Dogan got his elementary and secondary school education in Kelkit and finished high-school in Erzincan...

for free!

Referring to the Turkish media's lack of coverage of the Tandoğan rally. Media magnate Aydın Doğan
Aydin Dogan
Aydın Doğan is a Turkish entrepreneur and businessman.-Biography:Born in 1936 as a member of a well-known family in Kelkit, Aydin Dogan got his elementary and secondary school education in Kelkit and finished high-school in Erzincan...

's holding company owns 3 major news channels, including CNN Türk, and 5 major newspapers
The Islamic call to prayer, the peal of church bells, and the ceremony of the synagogue are all listened to with respect in this city.

Referring to the implied 'infidel Izmir' slur by Erdoğan.
We came with our mother, where are you?

Referring to both the fact that İzmir
Izmir
Izmir is a large metropolis in the western extremity of Anatolia. The metropolitan area in the entire Izmir Province had a population of 3.35 million as of 2010, making the city third most populous in Turkey...

's Gündoğdu rally was held on Mother's Day
Mother's Day
Mother's Day is a celebration honoring mothers and celebrating motherhood, maternal bonds, and the influence of mothers in society. It is celebrated on various days in many parts of the world, yet most commonly in March, April, or May...

and also the derogatory comment made by Erdoğan to a farmer in Mersin
Mersin
-Mersin today:Today, Mersin is a large city spreading out along the coast, with Turkey's second tallest skyscraper , huge hotels, an opera house, expensive real estate near the sea or up in the hills, and many other modern urban...

seeking government aid. A particular message in that context was addressed by demonstrators from İzmir district of Karşıyaka
Karsiyaka
Karşıyaka is a district of İzmir Province in Turkey. It is part of the Greater Metropolitan Area of İzmir, in other words a metropolitan district, the second largest after Konak in terms of population, and it is almost entirely urbanized at the rate of 99,9 per cent, with corresponding high levels...

brandishing a photograph of Atatürk's mother Zübeyde Hanım
Zübeyde Hanim
Zübeyde Hanım was the mother of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of the Republic of Turkey. She was the only daughter of the Hacısofular family which included her two brothers...

, who is buried in Karşıyaka .

External links

- unofficial website

Photo gallery of the 14 April protests in Tandoğan square, Ankara
Photo gallery of the 29 April protests in Çağlayan square, Istanbul

Photo gallery of the 13 May protests in Gündoğdu square, İzmir

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