ANKARA, 30 August 2007 — Turkey’s staunchly secularist army chiefs refused yesterday to salute the country’s new Islamist-rooted President Abdullah Gul on his first full day in office.
Gul had an easier time in his second engagement of the day when he approved the new government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, of whose party he was a member until he was elected head of state by Parliament on Tuesday.
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah yesterday telephoned President Gul to congratulate him on his election victory. The two leaders discussed major regional and international developments as well as bilateral relations.
Earlier in a cable of congratulations addressed to Gul, Abdullah emphasized the strong and historic relations between the two Muslim countries. “The king also expressed his desire to strengthen these relations and work together for the benefit of all,” the Saudi Press Agency said.
The 56-year-old Gul joined army chief Yasar Buyukanit and other top generals at a graduation ceremony at the military’s prestigious GATA medical academy.
Buyukanit accompanied Gul inside and the president cordially shook hands with top commanders, but the army chief and several other generals pointedly failed to give the customary salute to Gul as they mounted the podium to present diplomas to graduates, the NTV news channel reported.
As president, Gul is also commander-in-chief of the armed forces. He attended the ceremony without his wife Hayrunnisa, whose head scarf is seen by many here as flouting the secular nature of the republic, enshrined in the constitution.
Ali Babacan, economy minister in the previous government and Turkey’s chief negotiator in European Union membership talks, was named foreign minister to succeed Gul and retains the chief negotiator’s post, Erdogan said. Among the newcomers are Ertugrul Gunay, a social-democrat who was appointed minister of culture and tourism.
