"Turkey is secular and will remain secular," thousands of people shouted when Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrived at the funeral for Ecevit, who died on Nov. 5 at age 81.

Ecevit, a respected pro-secular political force in Turkey for almost 50 years, served five times as Turkey's prime minister. He was best known for ordering the 1974 invasion of Cyprus, which led to the division of the island but made him a hero at home.

The Japan Times Weekly: Nov. 18, 2006
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