Turk Is Chewed Out Over Chewing Gum

Veysel Dalci, the local head of the ruling Justice and Development Party in the Black Sea coastal town of Fatsa, was chewing gum as he walked toward a statue of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of modern, secular Turkey on Sunday.

He was laying a wreath during a ceremony commemorating the 86th anniversary of the founding of the republic's parliament.

A military official present at the ceremony petitioned prosecutors accusing Dalci of insulting Ataturk, Anatolia said. He was summoned to testify in court and was charged.

Dalci said he had no intention of insulting Ataturk, but was chewing gum to freshen his breath after eating garlic, CNN-Turk television reported.

"I noticed I had a gum in my mouth after laying the wreath. I am very sorry," CNN-Turk quoted Dalci as saying.

Ataturk founded the secular republic from the ashes of the Ottoman empire, believing the influence of Islam in the political and social life of the nation was an obstacle to Western-style modernization.

As part of his reforms, he abolished the caliphate, or rule by Mohammed's successors as secular and religious heads of Islam. The caliphate had been in Turkish hands since the 16th century.

Although Erdogan insists his party has no Islamic agenda, some suspect that members of his party oppose Ataturk's reforms and long for an Islamic state.

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