New Islamic President promises to safeguard Turkey's secular laws

Abdullah Gl became the first person with a political Islamist past to become President of Turkey yesterday after a four-month battle by his party and supporters in the face of strong opposition from the military and secularist elite.

Less than 24 hours after military leaders cautioned against threats to the separation of religion and the State, Mr Gl stood before parliament and pledged allegiance to the secular Constitution.

A notable absentee from the swearing-in ceremony was Mr Gl's wife, Hayrunissa, who broke with convention amid persistent criticism of her use of the Muslim headscarf when she appears in public. Military leaders also stayed away from the ceremony.

The election of Mr Gl was welcomed by the European Union, which said that talks concerning EU membership could receive fresh impetus. The country's efforts to join have been stymied by the slow pace of reforms in Turkey and by opposition within the EU to admit a country with a large Muslim majority population.

Mr Gl, who won 339 votes in the third-round parliamentary ballot, became Turkey's fifth civilian president at the second attempt, after military threats and legal objections blocked the first try in May and forced general elections last month. With the main opposition Republican People's Party boycotting the vote, 448 MPs attended the election in the 550-seat house.

The ruling Justice and Development party (AK), in which Mr Gl served as Foreign Minister, won a landslide victory in the general elections after voters demonstrated that they appreciated economic and social reforms rather than accusations of Islamisation made by AK's opponents.

"We have been going through a period in which we have been able to show the world just how mature Turkey's democracy has become," Mr Gl told parliament Pledging his allegiance to the Constitution and the reforms of Kemal Atatrk, the secularist founder of modern Turkey, Mr Gl said: "I will embrace all my citizens without discrimination and carefully guard my impartiality."

Mr Gl used his speech to emphasise the importance of democracy, the rule of law, social justice, individual freedoms and human rights.

He said that Turkey should rejoice in its social diversity and defined secularism as a safeguard of religious freedom and guarantor of social peace.

He also emphasised the importance of a strong military, although the heads of the armed forces were not in parliament to hear this, having decided to abstain from the ceremony.

They will have plenty more opportunities to snub the new head of state during his first official engagement on Thursday's Victory Day celebrations, which mark the end of Turkey's war of independence against allied invaders after the First World War.

Mrs Gl's conspicuous absence from yesterday's proceedings gave an indication of the low profile that she is likely to keep, at least in the early stages of her husband's presidency.

While Mr Gl's opponents challenged his renunciation of political Islam and espousal of secularist values, they formed an almost stronger objection to the Muslim-style headscarf worn by his wife, criticising it as a sign of backwardness.

Timewsonline, UK