Cyprus-Forum.com

[joe]

http://tinyurl.com/3xz782

Turkey's Chief of Staff

By Paul de Bendern and Selcuk Gokoluk

ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey's top general on Monday reiterated that the military wanted the next president to uphold the country's secular values, potentially reviving tensions between the secularist establishment and the government.

The comments from Chief of General Staff General Yasar Buyukanit come amid recent concerns in financial markets about the presidency after an initial attempt to hold a presidential election was derailed earlier this year.

"We are still behind what we said. There is no change on that," Buyukanit told reporters when asked whether he stood behind his comments on April 12, insisting the next head of state have genuine secular credentials.

"We said what we said with conviction," he said at a reception for northern Cyprus at a military compound in Ankara.

These were the first comments from the powerful military on the subject since Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's AK Party, which has its roots in political Islam, won a resounding victory in a parliamentary election on July 22.

Erdogan brought forward that election by months after the army-backed secular elite blocked his choice of an ex-Islamist ally -- Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul -- as the next president.

Parliament is set to convene on Saturday and the first major issue which it faces will be the election to choose a successor for the staunchly secular Ahmet Necdet Sezer, who is a fierce critic of the AK Party and has close ties to the armed forces.

ISLAMIST PAST

The secular elite, including generals and judges, objected to Gul as president, fearing he would erode the separation of religion and state because of his Islamist past and the fact that his wife wears the Muslim headscarf.

But there is a growing expectation that Gul will resubmit his candidacy.

His supporters say Gul, who is an architect of Ankara's European Union membership bid, would make a good president.

The military views itself as the ultimate guarantor of the secular order. With strong public backing, it ousted an Islamist-minded cabinet, which Gul was a member of, in 1997.

The military will find it harder to block him this time. The position of president carries great symbolic weight in Turkey, a key U.S. NATO ally. The president is commander in chief and has the power to veto key appointments.

"The armed forces' options are pretty limited, but don't rule them out," said a senior Turkish defence reporter, who declined to be named.


The centre-right, pro-business AK Party won nearly half of the votes cast on July 22. Last Wednesday, Gul portrayed the outcome as a popular endorsement of his presidential candidacy.

Erdogan says he wants to avoid fresh tensions and he will consult with the opposition over who will succeed Sezer, whose term expired in May but who has stayed on as interim president due to the Gul row.

Nobody predicts tanks on the streets in 2007, but making Gul president would leave the army angrily resentful and less ready to cooperate on a range of issues including EU-linked reforms, Cyprus and how to defeat Kurdish rebels in southeast Turkey.

(Additional reporting by Daren Butler in Istanbul)

[pantheman]

here is a display of Democracy at its best!

Wonder if the US/UK will bomb them for lack of democracy. How can you trust a country when it is the armed forces that are doing the talking over the elected governments ?

Watch this space, this is going to get nasty, and this is the country that we are trying to allow into Europe, god/Allah help us all.

[EPSILON]

http://tinyurl.com/3xz782

Turkey's Chief of Staff

By Paul de Bendern and Selcuk Gokoluk

ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey's top general on Monday reiterated that the military wanted the next president to uphold the country's secular values, potentially reviving tensions between the secularist establishment and the government.

The comments from Chief of General Staff General Yasar Buyukanit come amid recent concerns in financial markets about the presidency after an initial attempt to hold a presidential election was derailed earlier this year.

"We are still behind what we said. There is no change on that," Buyukanit told reporters when asked whether he stood behind his comments on April 12, insisting the next head of state have genuine secular credentials.

"We said what we said with conviction," he said at a reception for northern Cyprus at a military compound in Ankara.

These were the first comments from the powerful military on the subject since Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's AK Party, which has its roots in political Islam, won a resounding victory in a parliamentary election on July 22.

Erdogan brought forward that election by months after the army-backed secular elite blocked his choice of an ex-Islamist ally -- Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul -- as the next president.

Parliament is set to convene on Saturday and the first major issue which it faces will be the election to choose a successor for the staunchly secular Ahmet Necdet Sezer, who is a fierce critic of the AK Party and has close ties to the armed forces.

ISLAMIST PAST

The secular elite, including generals and judges, objected to Gul as president, fearing he would erode the separation of religion and state because of his Islamist past and the fact that his wife wears the Muslim headscarf.

But there is a growing expectation that Gul will resubmit his candidacy.

His supporters say Gul, who is an architect of Ankara's European Union membership bid, would make a good president.

The military views itself as the ultimate guarantor of the secular order. With strong public backing, it ousted an Islamist-minded cabinet, which Gul was a member of, in 1997.

The military will find it harder to block him this time. The position of president carries great symbolic weight in Turkey, a key U.S. NATO ally. The president is commander in chief and has the power to veto key appointments.

"The armed forces' options are pretty limited, but don't rule them out," said a senior Turkish defence reporter, who declined to be named.


The centre-right, pro-business AK Party won nearly half of the votes cast on July 22. Last Wednesday, Gul portrayed the outcome as a popular endorsement of his presidential candidacy.

Erdogan says he wants to avoid fresh tensions and he will consult with the opposition over who will succeed Sezer, whose term expired in May but who has stayed on as interim president due to the Gul row.

Nobody predicts tanks on the streets in 2007, but making Gul president would leave the army angrily resentful and less ready to cooperate on a range of issues including EU-linked reforms, Cyprus and how to defeat Kurdish rebels in southeast Turkey.

(Additional reporting by Daren Butler in Istanbul)

Maybe the General prefers Papadopoulos to take over in Ankara as president-he is not related to Islam and his wife not waring anything on her head.

...then the title is Republic of Turkey!!!!jokes

[bigOz]

I see nothing in that post that says the title!

ie: The Army Chief: No to Gul for President

[karma]

Maybe the General prefers Papadopoulos to take over in Ankara as president-he is not related to Islam and his wife not waring anything on her head.

...then the title is Republic of Turkey!!!!jokes

EPSILON, this world needs brave people like you..

It is a very good idea indeed..there wld be no Cyprus problem if Tpap was the next president of Turkey..he deserves it more than Gul..

Gul means Rose, have u ever heard any other Rose being a president??
I havent..

As for Tpap's wife; I am sure she will love Ankara's shopping centers and she will enjoy being a first lady of a bigger country...the only problem is wht r we gona say to Mrs Papoulia..she may be offended with all these

[CopperLine]

Is Cyprus safer or likely to be safer with Turkey governed democratically than militarily ?

Is a resolution of the Cyprus problem more likely with a military controlled government in Ankara or by a democratic civilian one ?

Is Cyprus likely to live better, safer, harmoniously with Turkey in the EU or outside the EU ?

What is certain is that Turkey is not going to disappear. As I said in a different thread, you can have someone in the tent pissing out or outside the tent pissing in. Which is it to be ?

In my view, the greatest threat to Turkey and the greatest threat to Cyprus is the military. From my point of view we should be giving what support we can to democratic forces and movements right across Turkey (and elsewhere of course) and do what we can to fight against military interference and military rule. I'd say that about Cyprus as well. And the US, and Israel, and Russia, and ....

[cypezokyli]

let büyükanit stand besides his e-statement.

his statement was a significant factor that pushed AKP from 33 to 47%.

if he wants to push it even higher, he may as well continue doing statements

[Piratis]

Is Cyprus safer or likely to be safer with Turkey governed democratically than militarily ?

Is a resolution of the Cyprus problem more likely with a military controlled government in Ankara or by a democratic civilian one ?

Either way will not make a difference for Cyprus.

Is Cyprus likely to live better, safer, harmoniously with Turkey in the EU or outside the EU ?

With Turkey outside the EU for many reasons.

Some of them:

1) When Turkey invaded Cyprus and there was the prospect of war between Turkey and Greece, NATO was neutral because both countries were part of the alliance. We don't want that to happen with the case of EU.

2) With Turkey in EU, Turkey will have an easier way to excuse her illegal settlers in Cyprus

3) Turkey would become richer and more stable. The only hope that we have to liberate Cyprus is if Turkey becomes so unstable and unpredicted that will force the great powers to take measures of reducing her powers, e.g. by splitting Turkey up and creating an independent (oil rich) Kurdistan that they can control much easier, and by removing the powers of Turkey in the Mediterranean.

4) For all the other reasons that the majorities of all other European people do not want Turkey in EU.

How exactly do you think that Cyprus will be liberated if Turkey enters the EU? They will make this as a gift to us?

[joe]

More on this developing story below....
________________________________________

Did PM Erdogan Ask FM Gul to Withdraw His Candidacy? AKP Ranks Uneasy About Gul's Presidential Ambitions

ANKA News Agency reported that during the AKP summit yesterday PM Erdogan asked FM Gul to give up his candidacy, which would enable Erdogan to keep his pre-election promise that he would seek consensus with other parties on a name for president. The story was denied by AKP officials.

Top selling, mainstream Hurriyet also reported that according to political sources there is an increasing uneasiness among AKP MPs regarding Gul’s refusal to withdraw his presidential bid. Some AKP members do not want to create another political crisis and a confrontation with the military, that was caused by Gul’s candidacy. They want to nominate someone else and move on.

Source: Hurriyet, Milliyet, Turkey, August 1, 2007

[paliometoxo]

yes they need a new president one who doesent ant cyprus split in two