2007年VOA标准英语-Turkey's Government Presses for Change in Presi

By Bill Rodgers
Washington
07 May 2007
 

Turkey's Islamic-rooted government is pushing for a constitutional amendment¹ to allow the president to be elected by popular vote instead of by parliament, following two failed attempts to get its foreign minister selected as president by lawmakers.  The presidential succession issue is at the center of a standoff between the ruling party and the secular² opposition³, which fears Turkey's traditional secularism⁴ is in danger. An early general election has been called in an attempt to defuse the political crisis.  More from VOA's Bill Rodgers.

Demonstrators in Ankara

The political standoff that brought hundreds of thousands into the streets of Istanbul to demonstrate, and even led some to riot and clash with police on May Day, may now be decided⁵ in early elections, scheduled for July 22nd.  Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan called for the elections to defuse tensions following a Constitutional Court decision to annul⁶ the first round of a parliamentary vote to select a new president, citing lack of a quorum⁷. 

Mr. Erdogan and his Islamist-leaning ruling Justice and Development Party want Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul to become president. But Turkey's secularist⁸ political establishment opposes this – fearing such a move would lead to a radical⁹ Islamist government. 

Professor Dennis Sandole monitors Turkish affairs at George Mason University's Conflict Analysis and Resolution Institute. "I think many Turks who are secularists believe that with the progressive radicalization of Islamists, including Turkey, the chances are great that Prime Minister Erdogan and Foreign Minister Gul, maybe President Gul, might be the tip of the iceberg¹⁰, might be the Trojan Horse for the further radical Islamization of Turkey," he says.

Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, modern Turkey's founder¹¹ and first president, strove to imprint¹² a secularist ideal on his Muslim country.  Successive governments have maintained secularism.  There are bans, for example, to wearing Islamic headscarves in public offices and schools.

And it is the issue of headscarves, worn by , that has become politically divisive  -- and a symbol for the opposition to Gul's possible presidential intentions.  Dennis Sandole explains the opposition view.

"If he becomes president, which is a strong position in Turkish politics,” says Sandole, “he will facilitate the further progressive Islamization of Turkish society – and that against the background of what is taking place in the region, which is the further radicalization of Muslims – looks to many secular Turks, who are Muslim in their identity but who don't want to wear headscarves – as a threat."

Turkey's powerful military, which sees itself as the defender¹³ of Ataturk's secular legacy¹⁴, has warned it would intervene if Mr. Erdogan strays too far from secularism.  But the military's warning was received negatively by Turkey's allies, including the United States. 

State Department spokesman Tom Casey had this to say: "We believe that a free and democratic Turkey in which the Turkish people decide for themselves who their leaders are is critical for that country.  It is critical for Europe and it is critical for the world and we will continue to support and call for respect for the constitutional order and democratic process in that country."

For now, Turkey's military – which has overthrown¹⁵ several governments in the past 40 years – appears prepared to stay in the barracks, while ordinary Turks await the next political development. 

1 amendment   

n.改正，修正，改善，修正案

参考例句：

• The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
• The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。

2 secular   

n.牧师，凡人；adj.世俗的，现世的，不朽的

参考例句：

• We live in an increasingly secular society.我们生活在一个日益非宗教的社会。
• Britain is a plural society in which the secular predominates.英国是个世俗主导的多元社会。

3 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

4 secularism   

n.现世主义；世俗主义；宗教与教育分离论；政教分离论

参考例句：

• Unless are devoted to God, secularism shall not leave us. 除非我们奉献于神，否则凡俗之心便不会离开我们。 来自互联网
• They are no longer a huge threat to secularism. 他们已不再是民主的巨大威胁。 来自互联网

5 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

6 annul   

v.宣告…无效，取消，废止

参考例句：

• They have the power to alter or annul inappropriate decisions of their own standing committees.他们有权改变或者撤销本级人民代表大会常务委员会不适当的决定。
• The courts later found grounds to annul the results,after the king urged them to sort out the "mess".在国王敦促法庭收拾烂摊子后，法庭随后宣布废除选举结果。

7 quorum   

n.法定人数

参考例句：

• The meeting is adjourned since there is no quorum.因为没有法定人数会议休会。
• Three members shall constitute a quorum.三名成员可组成法定人数。

8 secularist   

n.现世主义者，世俗主义者；宗教与教育分离论者

参考例句：

9 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

10 iceberg   

n.冰山，流冰，冷冰冰的人

参考例句：

• The ship hit an iceberg and went under.船撞上一座冰山而沉没了。
• The glacier calved a large iceberg.冰河崩解而形成一个大冰山。

11 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

12 imprint   

n.印痕，痕迹；深刻的印象；vt.压印，牢记

参考例句：

• That dictionary is published under the Longman imprint.那本词典以朗曼公司的名义出版。
• Her speech left its imprint on me.她的演讲给我留下了深刻印象。

13 defender   

n.保卫者，拥护者，辩护人

参考例句：

• He shouldered off a defender and shot at goal.他用肩膀挡开防守队员，然后射门。
• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。

14 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

15 overthrown   

adj. 打翻的，推倒的，倾覆的 动词overthrow的过去分词

参考例句：

• The president was overthrown in a military coup. 总统在军事政变中被赶下台。
• He has overthrown the basic standards of morality. 他已摒弃了基本的道德标准。