Turks keep up pro-secular momentum
Thousands of flag-waving Turks filled a square in the Black Sea city of Samsun in the latest of a series of nationwide protests against the pro-Islamic government they fear is challenging secular Turkish society.
The demonstration follows larger protests in Turkey’s three largest cities -- Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir -- and comes ahead of the July 22 general elections that will pit Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s party against the secular opposition.
The city holds historic significance as the place where the country’s secular founder, Kemal Ataturk, launched the war of independence against occupiers after World War I.
The protesters chanted, “Turkey is secular and will remain secular!” The leaders of two main secular parties, who formed an alliance last week, attended the rally in a show of unity.
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