Government Rebuffs Armys Challenge

"In a democratic country governed by rule of law, it is unimaginable that the General Staff, which is subordinate to the prime minister, make a public statement against the government," says governmnet spokesperson and Minister of Justice Cemil Çiçek, in a public statement.

In an anonymous written statement posted on its intenet Web site late Friday night, the General Staff said that the presidential election's were hinging around a debabete for redefining secularism. They were following these debates with "concern." they said. The statement warned that Turkish Armed Forces would "openly take an open stand and act when it deems necessary."

"It should be kept in mind that the Turkish armed forces is aparty to the dispute will staunchly defender secularism," they said. "The Turkish armed forces are against those debates ... and will display its position and attitudes when it becomes necessary. No one should doubt that."

The statement came hours after Foreign Minister Abdullah Gül, the presidential nominee from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party), failed to get elected to the post since he could not get 367 votes necessary to qualify for election. The main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), which opposes Gül's presidency, boycotted the election, and applied to the Constitutional Court to get it annulled saying there was less than 367 deputies at the voting session. Parliament Speaker Bülent Arınç claimed six CHP deputies who angrily entered the General Assembly hall to check vote counting were also considered to be part of the quorum, an argument the CHP rejects.

The Constitutional Court should now decide whether the election process could go ahead as planned or whether it should be canceled. If it agrees with CHP, then an early general election could be in the pipeline.

Çiçek said yesterday that Erdoğan had a "useful" phone conversation with Büyükanıt yesterday afternoon, without elaborating. Undersecretary of the National Intelligence Organization Emre Taner also attended Erdoğan's meeting with ministers.

Criticizing the General Staff statement, Çiçek said the timing was "meaningful" and added that it would be perceived as an "attempt to influence the judiciary decision."

The presidential election began on Friday amid worries on the part of secularist state establishment that presidency of Gül or someone else from the AK Party would undermine the secular structure of the state. A secularist rally is expected to bring together anti-government demonstrators in İstanbul today (Sunday), similar to a meeting in Ankara on April 14 which drew hundreds of thousands of demonstrators to the city's Tandoğan Square.

The General Staff statement openly said that it had the same concerns: "The Islamic reactionary mentality that is against the Republic and that has no purpose but undermining the basic characters of our state is being encouraged and is expanding its scope," it said. It cited as an example a series of events, such as a failed attempt in Ankara to hold a Koran reading competition on April 23, the Children and National Sovereignty Day.

"Developments in our region offer a lot of examples on how playing with religion and the use of religion as a tool to achieve certain goals could prove to be disastrous," the statement said, citing the recent killing of three Christian missionaries at a publishing house in the eastern province of Malatya as an example.

The statement also said such behaviors and actions stood in "total contradiction" with the principle of being "loyal to the principle of secularism in essence, not in words," a reference to a speech Gen. Yaşar Büyükanıt made on April 12 while commenting on how Turkey's next president should be.

Çiçek said in response that protection of basic characteristics of the state was principally a duty for the government. "Every problem in Turkey will be resolved within the legal framework and democracy. Any contrary thought or stance is definitely unacceptable. The duty on all individuals and institutions is to help this process proceed smoothly. Painful experiences have shown how different approaches have harmed our country and the nation."

He also said: "Everyone should know that our government is a side more than everyone and more sensitive than everyone when it comes to protection of the basic values of the state, intetgrity and unity of our country, about Turkey's being secular, democratic and social state governed by rule of law."

Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said in remarks appeared to be directed at the military that Turks would oppose efforts to erode their country's stability. "The political unity and social structure... of this country can sometimes be subject to disasters," he told a gathering of the Turkish Red Crescent (Kızılay) in Ankara. "This nation has paid a heavy, painful price when the base of stability and confidence has been lost. But it no longer allows, nor will it allow, opportunists who are waiting and paving the way for a disaster."

Opposition calls for elections to avert crisis

Motherland Party (ANAVATAN), which also boycotted the presidential election and called for the cancellation of the presidential poll and for early parliamentary elections instead, said yesterday that the recent developments proved its position right.

"I don't want to say I said so," the party's chairman Erkan Mumcu said at a press conference after Çiçek's. He said the country was faced with a crisis. "Responsible action is now an unavoidable responsibility," he said, reiterating his call for early general elections at once as a way out of the crisis.

True Path Party (DYP) Chairman Mehmet Ağar also called for early elections. "Turkey has the capability to resolve its problems within parameters of civilian politics. It will not be difficult to resolve problems of Turkey through the will of people," he said.

Deniz Baykal, who heads the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), called on the government to act on the basis with compromise and consultations. "Crisis are resolved through politics. And politics cannot be made through impositions, politics are made by compromise,"