Trouble in Turkey

Young middle-class Turks don't have much of a tradition of political protest. But nearly a million of them poured into the streets of Istanbul--some chanting "We don't want another Iran!"--to demonstrate against the country's Islamic-leaning but democratically elected government. The protest was part of a larger revolt by Turkey's "secular establishment," which includes the army and parts of the judiciary, against a political party that has been in power for five years. The ostensible reason was that the ruling party nominated Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, a conservative Muslim, for President. But by attacking Gul, the country's urban élite runs the risk of undermining some of the same secular principles--like democracy--they are trying to defend. What happens next is unclear: a court ruling in favor of the secularists annulled the presidential nomination, but the pro-Islamic government has called early elections for this summer to try to win enough seats to force through their choice. Analysts are not ruling out a coup by Turkey's staunchly secular army if the Islamic-leaning party is returned by popular vote.