Turkey's Gul defiant despite army, protests

ISTANBUL, Apr 29 (Reuters) Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul refused today to withdraw from Turkey's presidential vote, ignoring pressure from the army and calls from tens of thousands of demonstrators worried about his Islamist past.

Turkey's secularist elite, including army generals, fear Gul and the ruling AK party could tamper with the strict separation of state and religion in the overwhelmingly Muslim country.

But Gul, architect of Turkey's European Union membership bid, said he would remain his party's candidate. A second round of voting in parliament, where the AK Party has a majority, is set for Wednesday.

''The process (of electing a president) has begun and will continue ... There can be no question of my candidacy being withdrawn,'' Gul told reporters in televised comments.

Tens of thousands of people rallied in Istanbul today to oppose Gul because of concerns that, working in tandem with the Islamist-rooted AK Party government, he would erode the secular system.

The dispute has put the AK Party at odds with the military, which sees itself as the guardian of the secular state and has ousted four governments in the past 50 years.

Waving Turkish flags and anti-government placards, the demonstrators said they wanted the AK Party to abandon its plan to make Gul president.

''Turkey is secular and will remain secular,'' the protesters chanted as they marched through Istanbul, Turkey's largest city and business hub.

''Shoulder to shoulder against Sharia law,'' they shouted.

Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan and Gul deny any Islamist agenda. The AK Party has presided over nearly five years of strong economic growth and the start of EU membership talks.

Turkey's powerful army General Staff raised the stakes on Friday by threatening to intervene in the election to defend the constitutional separation of state and religion.

MILITARY MEDDLING But the government, backed by the EU, human rights groups and even the main opposition parties, has told the military not to meddle in politics.

The Istanbul rally recalled similar protests in Ankara two weeks ago in which more than 400,000 people opposed Erdogan running for president. Instead he named the more conciliatory Gul.

''We are here to protect the republic. We don't trust this government and their background. We think they want to set up an Islamic republic,'' said Irfan Kadim, 35, a manager.

Gul, a soft-spoken diplomat, failed to secure enough support from lawmakers in the first round of voting last Friday, which opposition parties boycotted.

The main secularist opposition party has asked the Constitutional Court to rule the vote invalid. The court has said it will try to deliver its verdict before Wednesday's vote in parliament.

''We are awaiting the Constitutional Court decision,'' Deputy Prime Minister Abdullatif Sener told NTV television today.

If the Constitutional Court rules the first round of the presidential poll invalid, Erdogan must call national elections, not due until November.

Outgoing President Ahmet Necdet Sezer would remain in office until a new parliament could choose his successor.

If the court backs the government, the presidential election process would continue.

REUTERS KK PM1735