Abdullah Gul is not the president of the whole nation. He was elected by hi?? party and he acts as if he is still a party member. The proof for this can be found in all his appointments and approvals of laws. How come all the vetos by the former president who was earlier a member of the highest court of the country were overturned by Gul? was the previous president who was a person of law so wrong that Gul righted all the wrongs? Or did he allow the appointment of his fellow antisecular people to top state positions. He has a head scarfed wife who wears it as a political symbol. There is no divide? Oh, there definitely is. they have split the nation into two. EU prospects are dim simply because their EU membership approach is fake; they are using EU to achieve their own religious-financial-power goals. To decrease the influence of the army, to free all religious activities which can be detrimental for the country are examples. His ex party fellows are accused of many financial scams. What does he do? Call in the prosecutors? No. He himself is accused of misuse of state funds given to his previous party that was eventually banned. He is exempt from prosecution due to his presidential immunity. His fellows who were accused of the same thing, including his then-leader Erbakan, were tried and convicted and unexpectedly (!) pardoned by Gul. I do not believe Mr. Gul represents anything positive in Turkey.
I believe one day Ataturk's teachings will again be prevalent in the country but by then we will have lost several generations due to this medieval AKP rule and a large portion of our national wealth.
Sincerely
Vasif Hasirci