Ankara Rally Against AKP Government

Organized by 76 NGOs, the Ankara rally, called "Independence and Laicism Meeting," attracted more than 200,000 people to protest the fundamentalist AKP government and its collaborator MHP. As people protested, the parliament voted to change the Turkish constitution to allow women to wear religious dresses to schools, a step clearly against the secular nature of the state. Constitutional change is expected to be signed by "president" Abdullah Gul, who acts as a clerk of AKP party instead of an independent head of state. In the Ankara rally, held in Sihhiye Meydani on Saturday, February 9, 2008, people stressed that sharia law represents middle ages and cannot guide the country into the 21st century. Participants chanted for the resignation of Tayyip Erdogan and his religious government. Rally speakers included: Şenal Sarıhan, Cumhuriyet Kadınları Derneği (CKD) Genel BaşkanıOsman Yılmaz, Türkiye Gençlik Birliği (TGB) Genel Sekreteri Sinem Atacan, Atatürkçü Düşünce Derneği (ADD) Gençlik KollarıGökhan Günaydın, Ziraat Mühendisleri Odası (ZMO) Başkanı Tuncay Özkan, GazeteciProf. Dr. Birgül Ayman Güler, Yerel Yönetim Araştırma Yardım ve Eğitim Derneği (YAYED) Başkanı Other protests were also held same day in İzmir, Edirne, Antalya, Kırklareli, Denizli, Muğla, Alanya, Giresun and Çorum to condemn government's turban policy which undermines secularity and seen as a major turn in Turkey's direction towards the stone ages. Accompanying music is "Toca" by Pinar Aylin, and short videoclips are from HaberTurk TV.