The Turks are pushing back against the Islamists, as well they should. This is good news.
It’s all over the news. Except at the state-run Canadian CBC, which isn’t covering this at all.
Turks protest Islamic-rooted government
BENJAMIN HARVEY, Associated Press Writer
ISTANBUL, Turkey – At least 300,000 Turks waving the red national flag flooded central Istanbul on Sunday to demand the resignation of the government, saying the Islamic roots of Turkey’s leaders threatened to destroy the country’s modern foundations.
Like the protesters — who gathered for the second large anti-government demonstration in two weeks — Turkey’s powerful secular military has accused Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan of tolerating radical Islamic circles.
“They want to drag Turkey to the dark ages,” said 63-year-old Ahmet Yurdakul, a retired government employee who attended the protest.
More than 300,000 people took part in a similar rally in Ankara two weeks ago.
CTV.ca also runs with this story:
[…]
The vote was boycotted by most opposition legislators, and its validity was contested in the Constitutional Court.
Protesters chanted that the presidential palace is “closed to imams” and some were angry with Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc who recently said that the next president should be “pious.”
That prompted some to call him an enemy of the secular system which has its origins in the 1920s, when Western laws were imposed, Arabic script was replaced with the Latin alphabet, Islamic dress was banned and women were given the right to vote.
But the ruling party is seen by some as a threat to that foundation, because it has tried to lift a ban on head scarves in public office and schools and supported religious schools.
Another point of controversy is the fact Gul’s wife wears a traditional Muslim headscarf in the presidential palace—causing discomfort among some secularists.
“We don’t want a covered woman in Ataturk’s presidential palace,” Ayse Bari, a 67-year-old housewife told AP. “We want civilized, modern people there.”
· No State-run CBC has no coverage…
CBC.ca “WORLD” section – April 29 2007 – 08:55 AM PDT
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I was struck by the captions to the photos produced by various news media about the popular uprising.
An Agence France-Press picture says:
Turks wave a giant flags during a pro-democracy rally in Istanbul, 29 April 2007. More than one million people have taken part in a mass rally in support of secularism and democracy amid a tense stand-off between the Islamist-rooted government and the army over presidential elections. (AFP/Hocine Zaourar)
An Associated Press caption says:
Turkey’s Foreign Minister and the candidate of his ruling Justice and Developmen Party for president prays during a funeral service for a former minister in Ankara, Sunday, April 29, 2007. More than 300,000 pro-secular Turks gathered in Istanbul Sunday, chanting slogans against Islamic-rooted government, which has faced severe criticism from the powerful military for allegedly tolerating the activities of radical Islamic circles. (AP Photo)
And one from what we like to call “Al-Reuters” writes in one of their captions:
Tens of thousands of Turks wave their national flags to oppose the government’s presidential candidate during a rally in Istanbul April 29, 2007. Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul refused on Sunday to withdraw from Turkey’s presidential vote, ignoring pressure from the army and calls from tens of thousands of demonstrators worried about his Islamist past. REUTERS/Osman Orsal (TURKEY)
PTBC was founded by Mr. Johannesen in 2000.
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