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Countdown To A Turkish Secularist's Nightmare Presidential Selection Day -- 15 May 2007 I don't want him. You can have him. He's far too right for me. Click for enlargement! Thanks to: Columnist Bekir Coşkun Hürriyet Gazetesi 12 April 2007 Why don't secular Turks want Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (or a crony) as their next President? On 15 May 2007, staunch secularist Ahmet Necdet Sezer is scheduled to step down as 10th President of the Turkish Republic after completing his 7-year term. Barring unforeseen circumstances, the 11th Turkish Republic President is scheduled to begin his own 7-year term that same day. But who will it be? As explained in our article 'Caught Between 2 Bad Choices', Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (the far-religious-right candidate) is a shoo-in if he wants the post -- but secular Turks are up in arms about it. Some Reasons Why Secular Turks Don't Want Him... Here's what secular columnist Bekir Coşkun had to say on the matter in Thursday's Hürriyet Gazetesi (figuratively translated): I don't care about technicalities of the Presidential selection process (which might be used to stop his selection). No... I don't want Tayyip Erdoğan to be President, because: Firstly, I'm opposed to a politician whose AKP Party only won 30-some percent of the national vote in 2002 and then -- because of a quirky election law loophole -- parlayed that simple-plurality-win into a 60% ruling-majority in the Turkish Parliament. It's disturbing enough to think that he's been able to control this country as Prime Minister for the past 5 years -- solely because of that loophole. But it's even more disturbing to think that the same politician (whose voter support has dropped these past 5 years to less than 30%) is about to capture the prestigious and powerful post of President of the Turkish Republic -- giving him 7 more years of influence over Turkish governmental affairs. There's nothing about such opportunistic 'loophole maneuverings' that can be described as 'representative Democracy'. Ask those who gave their vote to the AKP 5 years ago, "Is this what you wanted when you cast your vote in 2002? Did you want the ultraconservative AKP to have uncontested control of Parliament for 5 years -- under the direction of its far-right religious leader, Erdoğan, during that time? And, further... Did you want that 5-year period to be followed by Erdoğan-as-President for 7 more years?" What do you think they'd say? I don't care how he pretends when he quotes Atatürk or when he praises 'The Turkish Republic' or when he mouths support for 'Turkish Secularism'. (These pronouncements are nothing more than blatent 'takiye' tactics.] No... I don't want Tayyip Erdoğan to be President, because: I don't want Turkey to be symbolized and represented in the modern world by a tesettürlü, türbanlı First Lady, his wife Emine Erdoğan. I don't care about his rosy, good-news forecasts that Turkey will soon be a 'Star Country'. I care about what happened last week in Kırıkkale... While promoting his AKP population-growth program (in contradiction to worldwide concern about over-population), he spoke with a woman who said, "I already have a child." PM Erdoğan replied, "One is not enough. Keep going. Don't stop at the number you can manage, continue until you can't have any more." I don't want such a man to be Turkish President! We Turks have had such bright hopes. We've tried to keep our lights focused on the right road. In spite of adversity, we've struggled to improve, to modernize, to become a Westernized society. We've brought our children up in the footsteps of Atatürk -- teaching them to stay on the track towards a better Democratic future. The Erdoğan-led AKP has different ideas about Turkey's future direction. They are filling Anatolia with religious schools, seeking to infect Universities with atavistic turbanlı students, attempting to reduce secularism in state government -- with the intention of increasing Muslim theological desire... such that Turkey might eventually be ruled by the İmams. I don't want this. I don't care about those who say, "Don't rock the boat. Let's wait and see what happens." Because, for me their is only one Turkey. And I don't want Tayyip Erdoğan to be its President. Well gosh, Bekir Bey... Don't hold back. Let's hear what you really think. Related: Final Results Charts for the 2007 National Elections What the Turkish National Election Results of 2007 may fortell About the 2007 Pre-Election Polls The Next Turkish President Must Not Be.... Bang, bang! The AKP gets shot down (for the moment) for strong-arm tactics When Worlds Collide -- Kemalist Democracy and the AKP 2/2 Threats to Turkey's Well-Being - Terrorism and Religious Excess Steering Clear of Politics and Religion, this time... Turkish 'Religious Attitudes' and Politics Caught Between 2 Bad Choices -- The Turkish Presidential Selection, 2007 Countdown To A Turkish Secularist's Nightmare, Presidential Selection Day 2007 Turkish National Pre-Election Polls 2002 Local elections 2004 -- No 'Girl Power' (see yerel seçimler) International Study with an Outhouse Smell 'Troubles in Turkish Paradise' Language-Guide LPT's Geopolitical pages... Unrelated fun: Maganda, The Racy Turkish Lout -- a risqué illustration of the word zipper Aysel, The Turkish Lout's daughter -- has a sexy job interview technique Ferdi Tayfur - Arabesque (Arabesk) Singing Sensation Turkish Movies - Best-Looking Bad Girl of the 1970s, Sevda Ferdağ Bad Girls of the 1970s Turkish Cinema, Aliye Rona Traditional Turkish Humor 1 We say softball, you say rounders... Turkish Terms Of Endearment Turkish Personal Names Politically Incorrect Turkish Humor Why Off-Color Turkish is important too Gossipy Turkish Who's Who The World's Worst Sport The 'cold and delicious' ice cream of Kahramanmaraş Post your comment...»

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