Hundreds of thousands demonstrate in Izmir for secular Turkey

Istanbul - Hundreds of thousands took to the streets of the western Turkish city of Izmir Sunday morning to protest against the conservative Islamic government and to demand the maintenance of the separation between religion and state. Like previous mass demonstrations in Ankara and Istanbul, the protestors waved the red national flag with a star and crescent and carried posters of the founding father of modern secular Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. The crowds streamed from two gathering points to the site of the main demonstration, which was already full of people before it was officially scheduled to start, Turkish television reported. It was estimated that the demonstration could see a record number of protestors of more than 1 million. The protest movement was sparked by an attempt to have the ruling AK Party Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul elected as president by parliament. After the parliamentary vote failed to reach quorum - caused, it is believed, by a stern warning from the Turkish military against the Islamization of the state - lawmakers called for fresh elections on July 22 as a way out of the crisis. © 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur

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GooseMay 13th, 2007 - 16:27:26

Good for the Turks..

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Hundreds of thousands demonstrate in Izmir for secular Turkey

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