The Republic Protests () were a series of peaceful mass rallies that took place in Turkey in 2007 in support of a strict principle of state secularism.
The first rally took place in Ankara on 14 April 2007, just two days before the start of the presidential election process. The second one took place in Istanbul on 29 April. The third and fourth rallies took place consecutively in Manisa and Çanakkale on 5 May. The fifth rally took place in İzmir on 13 May.
The number of people gathering for the first protest in front of Anıtkabir, the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk in Ankara, was cited as ranging from "hundreds of thousands" to 1.5 million people. In the second protest, more than one million people gathered for the protests in Çağlayan square, Istanbul according to AFP and Reuters. The BBC reported hundreds of thousands of people. Over one million people reportedly participated in the fifth rally.
Antecedent
Turkey's preservation and maintenance of its secular identity has been an issue and source of tension long before the demonstration. In the past, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has spoken out against the active restrictions on wearing the Islamic-style head scarves in government offices and schools, and taken steps to bolster religious institutions. According to the Guardian Unlimited, Erdoğan showed his Islamist nature when he initiated a move in 2004 to criminalize adultery, which eventually failed under intense pressure from the secularist forces in the country and the European Union, which Turkey has been trying to join.
General Yaşar Büyükanıt, Chief of the Turkish General Staff, warned against Islamic fundamentalism in October 2006. Prime Minister Erdoğan replied that there was no such threat. In a press conference two days prior to the demonstration, Büyükanıt stated: "We hope that someone is elected president who is loyal to the principles of the republic — not just in words but in essence." This statement was widely interpreted as a hint from the General urging Erdoğan not to run.
The serving president, Ahmet Necdet Sezer, aimed a clear swipe at Erdoğan the day before the demonstrations by stating, "The threat which Islamic fundamentalism poses to the country is higher than ever." Although the post is mainly ceremonial, the Turkish president has the power to veto laws if he holds them to be in violation of the Constitution of Turkey, as well as to veto appointments to the highest positions of the state administration, such as the presidencies of universities and many public institutions. Sezer, a former chief of the Constitutional Court, did so many times during his years in office. In a recent poll by Hürriyet, a majority of the participants agreed with the president's assessment.
On April 24, foreign minister Abdullah Gül was announced as the official candidate of Justice and Development Party, by Erdoğan. His candidacy was controversial from the beginning due to his background of two proscribed Islamic political parties, and his statement "We want to change the secular system", in an interview published by the Guardian in 1995. Nevertheless, additional concerns were also present, including the effect of the hijab-style clothing of his spouse on Turkey's image, who previously filed a case against Turkey for the ban in the public buildings.
First rally (Tandoğan, Ankara)
On 14 April the first protest took place in Tandoğan square in Ankara. The number of people gathering in front of Anıtkabir, the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk in Ankara, was cited as ranging from "hundreds of thousands" to 1.5 million people. The first protest was one of the largest that Turkey had seen in years until then. - "...more than 350,000 people rallied in Ankara against a possible Erdoğan presidency. It was one of the largest protests in years." The target of the first protest was the possible presidential candidacy of the then Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (the outcome of which will be determined by the Turkish Grand National Assembly (unless the recent modifications on the constitution become ratified on time), in which Erdoğan's Justice and Development Party (AKP) has a healthy majority). Erdoğan decided not to run for president after the rally.
The slogan of the protest was Claim Your Republic (). According to the Ministry of the General Staff of the Turkish Armed Forces, who administer Anıtkabir, 370,000 people visited the monument on that day, but eyewitness accounts from those who participated say that at least twice that amount was not able to enter the crowded grounds (see photo). Police announcements gave conflicting numbers ranging from about 70,000 to 150,000 participants which was criticized among police officials themselves stating "such announcements hurt the credibility of the department." CNN Türk spoke of more than 650,000 at the meeting.
The demonstrators had different motives, including the suspicion that Erdoğan, who is thought to be attached to political Islam, will alter the secular state. Erdoğan's government denies having an Islamic agenda, but according to CNN, some critics argue that the government is inching the country towards increased religious rule. Erdoğan has had run-ins with the law in the past: He was tried and convicted for "inciting religious hatred" and had consequently served a four-month jail term in 2000 while he was the Mayor of Istanbul, Turkey's most populous city. According to the Guardian Unlimited, the pro-Islamic prime minister's party has been eroding secularists' longtime grip on power.
The protest was initiated by the "Atatürk Thought Association" () and supported by around 300 non-governmental organizations in Turkey. First some 60,000 people who travelled from all over Turkey by bus arrived to the protest in the early hours of Saturday, 14 April. People travelled by train and the residents of Ankara joined the protest overfilling Tandoğan Square and the nearby streets two hours before the official beginning. Among the protesters were also leaders of the opposition parties, Deniz Baykal (CHP), Zeki Sezer (DSP) and some professors of various universities wearing academic regalia. Protesters, waving the Turkish flag and carrying banners depicting Atatürk, chanted "Turkey is secular and will remain secular" () and "We don't want an imam as president!" (). The demonstration in downtown Ankara ended at 13:00 local time (10:00 GMT). Afterwards, the crowd marched to the Anıtkabir to pay their respect to the founder of the republic.
During the demonstrations, flight above Tandoğan Square and Anıtkabir was banned. Twelve ambulances and eleven police APCs were kept at standby in the surrounding streets. A contingent of 10,000 police officers watched over the crowd, but the demonstration ended peacefully.
Although the demonstrations received international media attention, all but one (Kanal Türk) of the local networks gave the demonstrations very little coverage. Habertürk director Melih Meriç said the lack of local coverage is because of political pressure.
Aftermath On 16 April in an interview en route to Germany on board the prime minister's jet, Erdoğan said that the demonstration would not affect his decisions (at the time he had not yet decided whether to run). Bülent Arınç, Speaker of the Turkish Parliament, commented that "they will elect a civilian, democratic and religious president". He also said that "not the regime but the power of the backers of status quo was in danger". In response to the protests Eyüp Fatsa, AKP group chief representative, stated that "if they [AKP] decided to hold such a demonstration they could gather ten times as many people" and that the parliament does not decide based on crowd gatherings. A Reuters article that appeared in the French newspaper Le Monde stated that if Erdoğan became president, Turkey would face its greatest political crisis since the creation of the Turkish Republic in 1923, noting the intricate connections between the secular elites and the army, and that the Chief of the Turkish Armed Forces had warned people of the danger threatening Turkish secularism. The article also reported that the Republican People's Party, the main opposition party, have declared their intention to leave the parliament and ask the Constitutional Court to cancel Erdoğan's running in the elections.
On 18 April Arzuhan Doğan Yalçındağ, the president of the Association of Turkish Businessman and Industrialists (TÜSİAD), stated that she felt Erdoğan would not stand as a candidate in the presidential election.
On 24 April after these weeks of debate over who would run for the presidency, foreign minister Abdullah Gül was put forward as the only candidate. Jonathan Rugman, a British reporter in Turkey for the Guardian, had published an article on 27 November 1995 following an interview with Abdullah Gül, who was then a member of the Welfare Party and made remarks such as "the Republican Era is over" . Immediately following the announcement, a group of 14 people was arrested for gathering to protest his candidacy in front of the Çankaya Palace (the presidential complex). After the arrest, smaller groups also gathered, chanting "if carrying the Turkish flag is a crime, take us too" (). Drivers passing by reportedly showed support by waving flags from their cars. A similar protest took place in Kuğulu park. When asked about this at a reception, General Ergin Saygun responded by quoting the 12 April speech of Yaşar Büyükanıt. When further inquired what he thought about the new commander-in-chief's wife having an Islamic headscarf, Saygun replied by saying that the answer to the question was inside it.
On 25 April when inquired about his wife's Islamic headscarf, Gül responded by saying his wife's decision should be respected and treated as a personal right. The same day there was an assassination attempt on the YÖK president Dr. Erdoğan Teziç who is known for his secularist remarks. Three rounds were fired by a 30-year-old man identified as Nurullah İlgün. İlgün was arrested the same day.
On 27 April, with only 353 parliamentarians present, the AKP failed to achieve a quorum of 367, and Gül's candidacy failed at the first round despite a majority of those present voting in favour. Due to the lack of necessary participation and several alleged violations of the constitution, the vote was taken to the constitutional court to be discussed over the weekend. Later the same day the Turkish Armed Forces released a statement warning that they are a party to this debate and the absolute defender of secularism, and that when necessary they would display their attitudes and actions very clearly. This led to an increase in tensions between the AKP and the Turkish Armed Forces.
Second rally (Çağlayan, Istanbul)
On 29 April a second rally was organized to start at 13:00 local time. Hundreds of thousands to more than one million gathered for the second protest at Abide-i Hürriyet (Monument of Liberty) in Çağlayan square in Istanbul in support of secularism in Turkey and against the candidacy of Abdullah Gül in the 2007 presidential election.
The rally was organised by Çağdaş Yaşamı Destekleme Derneği (Association in Support of Contemporary Living), Cumhuriyet Kadınları Derneği (Association of Republic's Women), and other women's NGO's.
At 15:22, mobile phone base stations were overloaded. Mobile phones in and around Çağlayan became inoperable.
At 15:30, Tuncay Özkan, owner of Kanaltürk, displayed a video of several statements by the then prime minister Erdoğan to the square full of protesters. These statements were: 1993 - One can't be a secular and a Muslim at the same time! () 1997 - Will this democracy be the goal or the tool? () 2000 - Mr. Öcalan is paying the price for the heads he had taken, not for his ideas. ()