The 1982 Turkish constitution, established following a military coup in the 1980s, emphasizes the principle of secularism and the separation of state and religion, according to Ahmed Uysal, general coordinator for the Congress of the Arab-Turksih Social Sciences. Uysal, a sociologist, spoke during a symposium on the Turkish political model and the Turkish constitution, which was held at the Tahrir Center. Uysal said he expects to see improved relations between Egypt and Turkey in the coming period after the success of Egypt's January 25 Revolution. He said Egypt gives freedom to non-Muslims, while Turkey does not provide such freedom to communists. Uysal added that Egypt does not need to adopt the Turkist model but can benefit from it. Uysal refused to answer the question of whether the Egyptian army protects Egypt's revolution, saying only, “This is an internal situation in Egypt and my answer will not be true.” Uysal said Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan cooperated with the Turkish army to overthrow the Necmettin Erbakan of the former Prime Minister of Turkey. He said Erdogan restricts the freedom of the media and imprisons journalists when they offend him, as he did recently when satirical cartoons of him were published in a newspaper. The Turkish army refused to allow the wife of the Turkish president to wear the veil, he added, although the Justice and Development Party has a strong relationship with the Turkish army. He added that the military established the Turkish state and played a major role in strengthening Turkey, but that is has sought to develop large concessions of its own, led by senior military chiefs of staff. The current Turkish constitution suffers from the privileges of the military despite its many amendments, added Uysal.
