http://www.arabnews.com/?page=4§ion=0&article=101660&d=25&m=9&y=2007&pix=world.jpg&category=World
Tuesday, 25, September, 2007 (13, Ramadhan, 1428)
Secularism in Turkey Not Up for Debate: Army
Agencies
ANKARA, 25 September 2007 - A top Turkish general said yesterday that the
fiercely guarded principle of secularism was not up for debate amid a heated
discussion on a new constitution drafted by the Islamist-rooted government.
"Secularism is the cornerstone of all values of the Turkish Republic,"
Gen. Ilker Basbug, the head of land forces, said in a speech at the military
academy here, Anatolia news agency reported.
"The principle of secularism that is enshrined in the constitution ...
should not be a topic for discussion," he added. "The Turkish Armed Forces is
and will always be a party to the protection of this characteristic and
structure."
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's Justice and Development Party (AK
Party) has begun drafting a new constitution, boosted by its solid election
victory in July that gave it a second five-year mandate.
The AK Party has said it wants to introduce a more liberal constitution
to replace the current code, the legacy of a 1980 military coup, which has been
criticized both at home and abroad for its authoritarian spirit.
The party has yet to announce the draft, but it has already sparked a
fierce debate in the country with secularists expressing concern over reports
that the AK Party was considering a provision to abolish a ban on the Islamic
head scarf in universities.
The head scarf, also banned in government offices, is seen by hard-line
secularists as a symbol of defiance of Turkey's secular system. The AK Party
was born out of a now-banned Islamist movement, but says it is fully committed
to the separation of state and religion.
Hard-line secularists, among them the judiciary, academics and the army,
remain unconvinced, citing the government's failed attempts to restrict alcohol
sales and criminalize adultery
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