ANKARA - Thousands of protesters are demonstrating in Ankara, accusing Turkey's Islamic-rooted government of undermining the country's secular laws.
Officials estimate more than 10,000 people have gathered for Saturday's protest.
Many are carrying anti-government banners, red-and-white Turkish flags or pictures of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the revered leader who founded the secular republic in 1923.
Chants of "Turkey is secular and will remain secular'' rang throughout the square.
The protest is part of a power struggle between Turkey's secular establishment and supporters of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The prime minister's party has been advocating western-style reforms as part of the country's bid to join the European Union. But critics accuse it of slowly pushing an Islamist agenda.
Turkey's highest court has agreed to hear a case to permanently close down Erdogan's party on charges that it is taking steps to impose Islamic law.
The chief prosecutor who brought the case also wants Erdogan and dozens of other party members barred from holding public office for five years.
The prosecutor's indictment against the party lists as evidence the ruling party's efforts to lift a ban on wearing Islamic head scarves in universities.
It also cites a lifting of obstacles facing religious school graduates who want to take university entrance exams, the rolling back of restrictions on courses in the Qur'an and curbs on alcohol consumption through tighter regulation of bars and restaurants.
