"SECULAR" TURKEY’S PRIME MINISTER AND PRESIDENT ARE NOW BOTH ISLAMISTS
by The Stiletto

Blogger News Network

Aug 29 2007

The third time was the charm for Abdullah Gul. The devout Muslim
whose wife wears a headscarf won Turkey’s presidency Tuesday after
twice falling short of the two-thirds majority in parliament needed
to secure the position. In the third round of voting, he only needed
a simple majority. Gul’s party, the Islamic-oriented Justice and
Development Party (AKP) holds 341 of the 530 seats in the Turkish
parliament, and he got 339 votes.

The Wall Street Journal reports that "[i]n a recent meeting with
journalists, Mr. Gul said he would make use of his experience as
foreign minister to … make the Turkish presidency more active on
the international scene."

Gul made good on that promise even before assuming the presidency,
having worked in tandem with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to
apply pressure on Israel last week to bring Anti-Defamation League
National Director Abraham H. Foxman to heel after he conceded last week
that the near-annihilation of Armenians at the hands of Ottoman Turks
"was tantamount to genocide." While Gul was working Israel’s ambassador
to Ankara over, Erdogan was whining to Israeli President Shimon Peres
that Turkey "was feeling ‘disappointed with its friends.’" Peres
called Foxman, who then sent a letter of apology for putting the
Turkish people "in a difficult position."

Given the Turkish military’s propensity to overthrow the country’s
government, Gul might not be around all that long – if he does not
exercise his veto power over legislation passed by parliament under
the leadership of political ally Erdogan that is perceived to pull
the country towards Islamism.

The Associated Press reports that "top generals did not attend the
swearing-in ceremony … Local media interpreted their absence as
a protest against the 56-year-old Gul. … The military has ousted
four governments since 1960, and an initial presidential bid by Gul
was derailed over fears that he planned to dilute secular traditions.

Some commentators said the generals’ failure to show up for Gul’s
oath-taking was ominous."

Note: The Stiletto writes about politics and other stuff at The
Stiletto Blog.