Turkish army chiefs boycott ceremony over hijab

Turkish army chiefs boycotted an official ceremony at the presidential palace because the president’s wife wore hijab, the press reported on Saturday.

The army’s top brass were conspicuous by their absence late Friday at a banquet thrown by President Abbdullah Gul to commemorate the creation of the modern, secular Turkey in 1923.

The military organised a separate reception at the same time to give the generals an excuse not to accept the president’s invitation, the reports said.

The secularist main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) also declined Gul’s invitation.

Turkey’s First Lady has worn the hijab, which covers the head and neck.

The boycott was criticised by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose wife also wears the headscarf.

The army’s generals, who see themselves as custodians of the Turkish republic, regard the headscarf as a threat to the state’s secular traditions and are against any relaxation of the ban on wearing them in schools and government buildings.