Bulletin de liaison et d'information - Institut kurde de Paris

Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Baszn Özeti
INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE, TiJESDAY, MARCH 4, 1997
Falih Saribas/Reuters
,Turkish women singingmarchin.g so.ngs and chanting slogans .against the Islamist-Ied
ruling coalition in a demonstratIOn an Istanbul's central Takslm Square on Monday.
'Secularist Turks Take to Streets
Anti-IslamistProtests
, Compiled by Our Slojf From Dispatches
Put More Pressure on Erbakan
, ANKARA ~ Turkey's secularist maj.ority
j.oined ranks .on M.onda~ with. ~e pr.o-Weste';"
army in an assault .on Prime Mmlster Necmettm'
Erbakan's Islamist ambiti.ons.
Several th.ousand anti-Islamist dem.onstrat.ors
t.ook t.o the streets .ofIstanbul and a f.ormer prime
minister and leftist leader, Bulent Ecevit, warned
Mr. Erbakan t.o respect dem.ocracy and toe the
.official secularist line.
"I t.oldhim that ifhe can 't d.othat, then he sh.ould
leave the g.overnment," Mr. Ecevit said at a news
c.onference f.oll.owing a meeting with Mr.
Erbakan.
'
A recent increase in army criticism .of the c.oaliti.on
has stirred mem.ories .ofthree military c.oups
in the last 37 years. ,
: But Mr. Erbakan brushed .offthe generals' latest
eff.orts t.oinfluence the running .ofthe c.ountry.
: "In Turkey g.overnments are f.ormed in Parliament,
n.otin the Nati.onal Security C.ouncil. Laws
'are made in Parliament," he said.
The military-d.ominated c.ouncil warned Mr.
Erbakan .on Saturday t.o end a recent surge in
religi.ous activism they fear c.ould pave the way ~.o
turning Turkey, a member .of the N.orth AtlantiC
Treaty Organizati.on, int.o an Islamist state.
. The army acti.on plan, published by newspapers,
includes a ban .onpropaganda.on pro-Islamic televisi.on
and radi.o, tighl.:r restricti.ons .o,nrelig.i.ous
dress and measures t.o prevent Islam1st radicals
fr.om entering the state adminis~ati.on. , .
The military is als.o demandmg stnct survell-
.lance .of financial .organizati.ons c.ontr.olledby religi.ous
fraternities and firm c.ontr.ols.on the p~rchase
.ofpump-acti.on sh.otguns, the sales .ofwhich
have surged in recent m.onths, allegedly t.o pr.o-
Islamic radicals;
Turkish st.ocksdived 5.58 percent.on M.onday.on
,the political uncertai!l~y, ., ".
, ''An easing in p.ol1ucaltensl.on IS needed, said
'Mustafa Yilmaz, a br.oker. "Newspapers full .of
pictures .of army generals negatively affect the
, market." A pr.ominent member .of Mr. Erbakan's
Welfare Party called f.orthe g.overnment t.oheed the
army warning. , .,
"Welfare sh.ouldtake steps t.osm.o.oth~IS .out,
the newspaper Yeni Yuzyil qu.oted Ayd~ Mend-
'eres a member .of Parliament, as saymg. Mr.
Me~deres's father, Adnan, was execut~. after a
1960 c.oup that dep.osed him as prime mmIster.
Mr. Erbakan, 70, became m.odern Turk~y's first
Islamist leader last year in alliance WIth c.onservatives
after narr.owly winning general electi.ons
with 21 percent .ofthe v.ote. .
Many secularists say he has n.omandate t.oraise
the profile .ofIslam in public life, .one.of Turkey's.
m.ost sensitive issues.
(Reuters. AFP)
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