page_title: Republic Protests
section_title: First rally (Tandoğan, Ankara)
hierarchical_section_title: Republic Protests / First rally (Tandoğan, Ankara)
context_page_description: The Republic Protests were a series of peaceful mass rallies that took place in Turkey in 2007 in support of a strict principle of state secularism.
  The first rally took place in Ankara on 14 April 2007, just two days before the start of the presidential election process. The second one took place in Istanbul on 29 April. The third and fourth rallies took place consecutively in Manisa and Çanakkale on 5 May. The fifth rally took place in İzmir on 13 May.
  The number of people gathering for the first protest in front of Anıtkabir, the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk in Ankara, was cited as ranging from "hundreds of thousands" to 1.5 million people. In the second protest, more than one million people gathered for the protests in Çağlayan square, Istanbul according to AFP and Reuters. The BBC reported hundreds of thousands of people. Over one million people reportedly participated in the fifth rally.
context_section_description: On 14 April the first protest took place in Tandoğan square in Ankara. The number of people gathering in front of Anıtkabir, the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk in Ankara, was cited as ranging from "hundreds of thousands" to 1.5 million people. The first protest was one of the largest that Turkey had seen in years until then. The target of the first protest was the possible presidential candidacy of the current Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (the outcome of which will be determined by the Turkish Grand National Assembly (unless the recent modifications on the constitution become ratified on time), in which Erdoğan's Justice and Development Party (AKP) has a healthy majority). Erdoğan decided not to run for president after the rally.
  The slogan of the protest was Claim Your Republic (Turkish: Cumhuriyetine Sahip Çık). According to the Ministry of the General Staff of the Turkish Armed Forces, who administer Anıtkabir, 370,000 people visited the monument on that day, but eyewitness accounts from those who participated say that at least twice that amount was not able to enter the crowded grounds (see photo). Police announcements gave conflicting numbers ranging from about 70,000 to 150,000 participants which was criticized among police officials themselves stating "such announcements hurt the credibility of the department." CNN Türk spoke of more than 650,000 at the meeting.
  The demonstrators had different motives, including the suspicion that Erdoğan, who is thought to be attached to political Islam, will alter the secular state. Erdoğan's government denies having an Islamic agenda, but according to CNN, some critics argue that the government is inching the country towards increased religious rule. Erdoğan has had run-ins with the law in the past: He was tried and convicted for "inciting religious hatred" and had consequently served a four-month jail term in 2000 while he was the Mayor of Istanbul, Turkey's most populous city. According to the Guardian Unlimited, the pro-Islamic prime minister's party has been eroding secularists' longtime grip on power.
  The protest was initiated by the "Atatürk Thought Association" (Turkish: Atatürkçü Düşünce Derneği) and supported by around 300 non-governmental organizations in Turkey. First some 60,000 people who travelled from all over Turkey by bus arrived to the protest in the early hours of Saturday, 14 April. People travelled by train and the residents of Ankara joined the protest overfilling Tandoğan Square and the nearby streets two hours before the official beginning. Among the protesters were also leaders of the opposition parties, Deniz Baykal (CHP), Zeki Sezer (DSP) and some professors of various universities wearing academic regalia. Protesters, waving the Turkish flag and carrying banners depicting Atatürk, chanted "Turkey is secular and will remain secular" (Turkish: Türkiye laiktir laik kalacak) and "We don't want an imam as president!" (Turkish: İmam cumhurbaşkanı istemiyoruz). The demonstration in downtown Ankara ended at 13:00 local time (10:00 GMT). Afterwards, the crowd marched to the Anıtkabir to pay their respect to the founder of the republic.
  During the demonstrations, flight above Tandoğan Square and Anıtkabir was banned. Twelve ambulances and eleven police APCs were kept at standby in the surrounding streets. A contingent of 10,000 police officers watched over the crowd, but the demonstration ended peacefully.
  Although the demonstrations received international media attention, all but one (Kanal Türk) of the local networks gave the demonstrations very little coverage. Habertürk director Melih Meriç said the lack of local coverage is because of political pressure.
caption: Turkish demonstrators in the large square before the Anıtkabir
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