Monday, July 30, 2007

swissinfo - Turkish army chief says president must be secular

"Turkish army chief says president must be secular

Turkey's Chief of Staff

By Paul de Bendern and Selcuk Gokoluk

ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey's top general on Monday reiterated that the military wanted the next president to uphold the country's secular values, potentially reviving tensions between the secularist establishment and the government.

The comments from Chief of General Staff General Yasar Buyukanit come amid recent concerns in financial markets about the presidency after an initial attempt to hold a presidential election was derailed earlier this year."

More:swissinfo - Turkish army chief says president must be secular