Turkey army chiefs again absent from president event

ANKARA, Sep 5 (Reuters) Turkey's powerful army leadership stayed away from Abdullah Gul's first reception as president today in a move widely viewed as a snub to the ex-Islamist whose election the generals had opposed.

The staunchly secular military opposed Gul becoming head of state and commander-in-chief of the armed forces because of his Islamist past and the fact his wife wears the Muslim headscarf.

They fear Gul and his ruling centre-right AK Party, which also has Islamist roots, want to undermine Turkey's strict separation of state and religion.

The office of the president played down the no-show, saying the generals had indicated they had other pressing engagements.

''The information that the chief of the General Staff and the forces' commanders will be outside Ankara for previously planned military activities was given to the President on August 30, actually before this invitation was planned,'' Gul's office said in a statement.

The reception was attended by ministers, lawmakers, judges and diplomats, but was also boycotted by the fiercely secularist main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP).

MESSAGE SEEN Top-selling daily Hurriyet said on its Web site that land forces training general, Erdal Ceylanoglu, a mid-ranking member of the General Staff represented the military, along with more than a dozen other military officials.

Ceylanoglu played a key role in helping topple the Islamist Welfare Party-led government in 1997, in which Gul served as minister, when he ordered tanks to Ankara's Sincan district.

Hurriyet said some observers interpreted Ceylanoglu's presence as a stern message to Gul and the AK Party government.

The head of the military General Staff, General Yasar Buyukanit, and other top generals also stayed away from Gul's swearing-in ceremony in parliament last week and failed to greet the president according to protocol at a military ceremony.

Gul's wife did not attend today's reception, a sign he wants to avoid tensions with the secular elite. The headscarf has not been traditionally worn at the presidential palace.

Turkish television showed close-up footage of whisky and wine being served at the reception. Secularist critics accuse the AK Party of wanting to restrict alcohol consumption.

Both Gul and the AK Party, which won re-election in July polls, deny any Islamist agenda. As foreign minister in the previous AK Party administration, Gul championed liberal reforms needed for Turkey to join the European Union.

Following criticism from the media Buyukanit last week tried to play down accusations he was giving Gul the cold shoulder. He said ''one must not ascribe meaning to these things''.

The top commanders were inspecting army posts in various parts of the NATO-member country this week.

REUTERS LPB BST1908