Turks join mass protest against government

SAMSUN, Turkey, May 20 (Reuters) Tens of thousands of Turks waving red national flags filled the streets of the Black Sea city of Samsun today to protest against the Islamist-rooted government ahead of a July election.

''No to Sharia (Islamic law)'', ''Turkey is secular and will remain secular'', the crowd chanted in the main square.

The rally, the latest in a series of protests, was billed by organisers as a way of uniting the divided opposition against the government which they accuse of trying to undermine the secular state in overwhelmingly Muslim Turkey.

Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's ruling AK Party, which denies any Islamist agenda, has called a national election ahead of schedule to resolve a conflict with the secularist elite over a presidential election.

The secular establishment, including the military, judges and opposition parties, derailed the government's plan to elect Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul as president, fearing he might weaken the official separation of religion and state.

The latest protest follows a pact on Thursday between the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) and the smaller left-wing DSP to contest the July 22 election together.

The leaders of the two parties attended the demonstration together. Two right-wing parties have also merged.

There was a large police presence but a carnival atmosphere in Samsun, where modern Turkey's founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk launched the country's war of independence on May 19, 1919.

Police estimated attendance at 50,000 people, less than at similar rallies in Ankara and Istanbul. Around a million attended a protest in the Aegean city of Izmir last weekend.

''We are here for an enlightened Turkey. We are here so that the future generations of our children can see good days. We are here so that they can see a totally independent Turkey, free of backwardness and Sharia,'' said retired teacher Ahmet Altunkus.

OPPOSITION MOBILISING Since coming to power after a deep financial crisis, the government has presided over five years of economic growth and political stability and the launch of membership talks with the European Union.

Erdogan's centre-right party is expected to attract the most votes in an election, but may be forced to form a coalition government. The rallies have boosted opposition efforts to put up a united front against the government in the election.

''Millions will call (the government) to account at the ballot box,'' said one banner in Samsun.

This week's poll alliance between the nationalist-minded CHP and the small leftist DSP grouping, which has no deputies, came in the wake of a merger on the right of the political spectrum.

Centre-right parties True Path and Motherland have merged to form the New Democrat Party in a bid to ensure they cross Turkey's 10 per cent threshold required to enter parliament.

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