"TURKEY: PRO-ISLAMIC PM'S PROBABLE PRESIDENTIAL BID PROMPTS SECULAR PROTEST
Istanbul, 12 April (AKI) - Turkish secular groups are to stage Saturday a demonstration in Ankara against what they believe is the intention of current prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to stand as a candidate for president when parliament chooses the country's next head of state on 16 May. The groups view Erdogan and his Islamic-rooted Justice and Development Party a threat against the secularism enshrined in the constitution by modern Turkey's founder, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, in the 1920s. With parliament set to announce the list of presidential candidates on 16 April, Erdogan has yet to say whether he intends to run.
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