TURKISH RULING PARTY STRESSES COMMITMENT TO SECULARISM

Anatolia News Agency, turkey
June 23 2007

Ankara, 23 June: Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s foreign
policy adviser and a lawmaker from ruling Justice and Development
(AK) Party Egemen Bagis has a sent letter to world’s major statesmen,
politicians and opinion leaders including former US Secretary of State
Henry Kissinger, Speaker of US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi,
Canadian Foreign Secretary Peter McKay and foreign ministers of other
countries as well as senior figures from major finance institutions,
saying that the AK Party is a political entity for all Turkish
citizens, including the Armenian minority in Turkey.

"Turks and Armenians are brothers and sisters. The AK Party aims at
maintaining peace and prosperity in both Turkey and in the Caucasus.

All citizens of the Turkish Republic, including Armenians, Christians
and Jews, are principal and beloved elements of our country," Bagis
said in his letter.

"The only way to reach peace, harmony and economic development in
Turkey is through establishing a full democracy and Turkish democracy
has taken a course from where there is no turning back. AK Party
favours a full-fledged democracy based on secularism and the rule of
law," he added.

Bagis also said that there is not any Islamic government in Turkey
or a row between Islamists and secularists.