Turkish Military Issues Threat as Voting Is Derailed - New York Times

Turkish Military Issues Threat as Voting Is Derailed - New York Times

"Turkish Military Issues Threat as Voting Is Derailed

ANKARA, Turkey, Saturday, April 28 — A revolt by Turkey’s secular opposition on Friday derailed the first round of voting on a presidential candidate with a background in political Islam, and in a harsh warning, the military hinted that it might act against the government if it strayed too far from secularism.

The growing tension over the candidate, Abdullah Gul, a close ally of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has brought Turkey to a defining moment. Since Mr. Gul’s emergence as the sole candidate for president, a powerful post chosen by parliamentary vote, the country’s opposition and military have warned that his selection would bring an end to the era of secular modernism that began with the Ataturk revolution in 1923. "