http://www.smh.com.au/world/army-chiefs-protest-against-headscarf-20101030-178cl.html
Army chiefs protest against headscarf October 31, 2010 Tayyip Erdogan, left, greets Abdullah and Hayrunnisa Gul. Photo: AFP ANKARA: Turkish army chiefs boycotted an official ceremony at the presidential palace because the President's wife wore an Islamic headscarf, it was reported yesterday. The army's top brass were conspicuous by their absence late on Friday at a banquet thrown by President Abdullah Gul to commemorate the creation of the modern, secular Turkey in 1923. The military organised a separate reception at the same time to give the generals an excuse not to accept the President's invitation, reports said. The secularist main opposition Republican People's Party also declined Mr Gul's invitation. Turkey's first lady, Hayrunnisa Gul, has worn the hijab, which covers the head and neck, since adolescence. The boycott was criticised by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose wife also wears the headscarf. The army's generals, who see themselves as custodians of the Turkish republic, regard the headscarf as a threat to the state's secular traditions and are against any relaxation of the ban on wearing them in schools and government buildings. Mr Erdogan, who has led the Islamist-rooted government since 2002, reproached the generals, saying ''the armed forces should have been present'' at the presidential palace. In the past, generals have attended the banquet to celebrate the founding of the Turkish republic, but this year the President extended the invitation to wives, meaning that women wearing the veil would be present. AFP [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ Post message: [email protected] Subscribe : [email protected] Unsubscribe : [email protected] List owner : [email protected] Homepage : http://proletar.8m.com/Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: [email protected] [email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
