Turkish Election a Struggle Over Identity

ISTANBUL, April 29 -- An estimated 700,000 people marched Sunday in a massive protest against the possible election of an observant Muslim as president, a conflict that is pitting Turkey's religiously oriented ruling party against the deeply secular military and civilian establishment.

Waving the country's red flag and singing nationalist songs, demonstrators in Istanbul demanded the resignation of the pro-Islamic government, calling Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan a traitor. Erdogan's foreign minister, Abdullah Gul, is widely expected to win the presidential election by the country's 550-seat parliament.

"We don't want a covered woman in Ataturk's presidential palace," protester Ayse Bari, a 67-year-old homemaker, said in reference to Gul's wife, Hayrunisa, who wears a Muslim head scarf. "We want civilized, modern people there."

The election has reignited a conflict over Turkey's identity that has brewed since Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, an army officer in World War I, founded the secular republic after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. He gave women the vote, restricted Islamic dress and replaced Arabic script with the Roman alphabet.

But Islam has remained potent at the grass-roots level, and some leaders with a religious background have portrayed themselves as an alternative to the secular establishment.

Many, including powerful generals, fear Gul would use the presidency -- a post with veto power over legislation -- to assist his ally, Erdogan, in chipping away at the separation of state and religion. For example, secularists want to preserve a ban on Islamic head scarves in government offices and other public places; Gul's wife once appealed to the European Court of Human Rights for the right to wear the scarf to a university.

The military hinted that it might step in to resolve the deadlock over Gul in parliament. And many Turks are calling for early elections in the hope of replacing the parliament, which is dominated by Gul's Islamic-rooted party.

"Turkey is secular and will remain secular!" shouted thousands of protesters, many of whom traveled overnight to reach Istanbul. Turkish police estimated their numbers at about 700,000.

On Friday, Gul failed to win a first-round vote in parliament after opposition lawmakers boycotted the vote. The opposition then appealed to the Constitutional Court to annul the result based on a technicality; a ruling is expected soon. That night, the military threatened to intervene in the election and warned the government to curb Islamic influences.

"It should not be forgotten that the Turkish armed forces is one of the sides in this debate and the absolute defender of secularism," the military said in a statement. "When necessary, they will display its stance and attitudes very clearly. No one should doubt that."

A day later, the government, showing confidence unknown in past civilian administrations, rebuked the military and said it was "unthinkable" for the institution to challenge its political leaders in a democracy.

"It is out of the question to withdraw my candidacy," Gul said Sunday.

The president, Ahmet Necdet Sezer, is a secularist who has acted as a check on the pro-Islamic government.

A decade ago, the Turkish military sent tanks into the streets in a campaign that forced the pro-Islamic prime minister to resign. Now, many Turks are wondering again how far the armed forces will go to settle another power struggle between the government and the secular establishment.

The military's threat to intervene could damage Turkey's troubled efforts to join the European Union, which has urged the predominantly Muslim nation to reduce the army's political influence.

Much has changed since Necmettin Erbakan resigned as prime minister on June 18, 1997, ceding power to a pro-Western coalition partner in what was labeled a "soft" coup. Under the current government, Turkey has reined in inflation and implemented reforms backed by the E.U.

These factors suggest that the military would be reluctant to topple the elected government, a drastic step that could represent a return to a chaotic, polarized era that many Turks would rather forget. Yet few doubt that the military, if pushed, will challenge the politicians.