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Turks rally to support secularism in İzmir |
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In a major show of strength over one million secular Turks demonstrated (May 13th, 2007) in the Aegean port city of Izmir against the Islamic-rooted government ahead of Turkey's early general elections.
The huge demonstration Sunday in the country's third-largest city -- a secular stronghold where Islamic parties fare poorly -- followed similar protests in Ankara and Turkey last month. On Saturday, a bomb placed at an Izmir market killed one person and injured 14 others, but there was no claim of responsibility for the attack, nor evidence that it was linked to the demonstration.
About 1.5 million people joined the rally, a military official told The Associated Press, which would make it the largest protest so far by secular Turks fearful that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's is conspiring to impose religious values on society.
The demonstrators called on leaders of the fragmented secular parties to unite against Erdogan's party.
"Unite! Unite! Unite!" the crowds chanted. "Unite or tomorrow may be too late!"
The whole article can be read at: http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/europe/05/14/turkey.rally.ap/index.html
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